The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Tatou NZ Ltd - a communication, marketing & engagement agency - was paid $95,450 to “rebrand” the Government's ‘Smokefree 2025 Action Plan' – which appears to have resulted in a few pages of work consisting only of logos.

TheTaxpayers' Union requested, under the Official Information Act, the cost of the rebrand after Minister Ayesha Verrall referred to it in a Ministerial release.

“This matter requires some immediate answers from the Government. Who approved this spend, and how do they justify the amount paid when the ‘brand’ is simply an alternation to the last one's logo?” Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says.

"The Government might consider $95,450 an insignificant amount, but it is this attitude that has seen an unprecedented amount of wasteful and ill-considered spending. Now more than ever, with rapid inflation, the Government should be scrutinising the benefit of every dollar they spend. This kind of spending isn't justifiable."

An invoice dated 21 February 2022 from Tatou NZ Ltd breaks down the costs as:

• Discovery: Te Wāhanga Whakapapa – we learn everything we can about you – how you work, who you work with, your goals; (You have done a lot of the work here already – work that we will build upon) and your audience – who they are, what they need. - $13,750
• Define: Te Wāhanga Tautuhi – We [sic] distill what we learned and articulate succinctly the brand fundamentals – which will build on the work you have already done. Objectives, vision, mission, and how you will achieve them. This will include your brand values and personality. Then, we look at what that means for your audience. We will share, and work with you to achieve the final expression. - $20,000
• Develop: Te Wāhanga Whakarite – We write a creative / design brief. Once approved our team will conceptualise what your brand might look like, and how it might sound. We’ll share concepts, listen to your feedback and refine. Co-design. Test. Includes feedback process and making changes. - $30,000
• Deliver: Te Wāhanga Mahi – The creation of the brand assets, and implementation. Includes feedback process and making changes. - $19,250

See NEW Smokefree 2025 Brand Refresh here - https://worldsmokefreemay.nz/wp-content/resources/Smokefree%202025%20Style%20guide.pdf

See OLD Smokefree 2025 Brand Guidelines here - https://www.smokefree.org.nz/files/images/Smokefree%20-%20Auahi%20Kore%202025%20logo%20guidelines.pdf

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