Brooke calls their bluff

Newsroom reports:

Van Velden ultimately chose the digital branding change. Although staff estimated this would require at least 50 hours of staff time and potentially the use of external consultants or resources, the minister told Newsroom she pushed back on that suggestion.

“I instructed the Department of Internal Affairs to change its branding and communications to English first to make it easier for New Zealanders to interact with the department. However, I also made it clear that I disagreed with the time and cost estimate, suggesting I could do this myself on Photoshop for near-zero cost,” van Velden said.

“The department agreed the cost could drop and I understand it has cost less than $1000, a significant time and cost saving compared to the original estimate.”

A spokesperson for the department confirmed to Newsroom the external cost of the change was $741 plus GST.

The Minister threatening to do the logo change herself via Photoshop was a brilliant move. The thought probably so horrified DIA that they dropped their plans for consultants etc and managed to change the logo for around $700.