So the latest worst-kept secret in South African politics is out - Patricia de Lille has launched a new party.
And anyone with even a passing interest in politics knew it was coming.
The writing was pretty much on the wall from the moment the DA started giving her grief, some would argue fairly so.
And this is not her first rodeo either.
As far as I can remember, she has gone from the PAC to the ID, to the DA and now to a party that she has named GOOD.
All the while, her politics has remained pretty much the same, which I suspect was what was behind her fallout with the DA.
She plans to contest next year’s elections in all nine provinces and many reckon she stands a very good chance of ending up in Parliament as a kingmaker MP.
As if it’s even possible, it will make Parliament an even more interesting hothouse of acrimonious mudslinging and grand-standing.
While some have ridiculed the name of the party, I reckon it’s a clever strategy from a messaging point of view.
Before I hit you with some academic reasons, just think about it this way: every time the media or anyone else talks about GOOD, they will be forced to say things like: “The Good spokesman”; or “The Good councillor”; or “The Good Minister”; or even “The Good President.”
This will happen repetitively and eventually, it starts to form an association with the actual meaning of the word “GOOD”, an association that will be reinforced when the story is of a good deed that they’ve done.
Messaging has become the single most important thing that companies focus on when it comes to their brands.
They want it to have the greatest possible impact and they want a natural connection to their values.
Think about Coke and the associations you make every time you see one of their signs or adverts.
Or think about those cigarette ads they used to play in the cinema before the movie started.
They wanted you to associate their product with fun, enjoyment and relaxation, things we all treasure and want.
It worked so well, that even now I am able to remember it.
Academically, this is a combination of subliminal messaging, neuro-linguistic programming and unconscious impact advertising.
These are all designed to slowly seduce you into a particular way of thinking.
So no, De Lille’s naming committee wasn’t lazy and didn’t run out of ideas.
At a time when many of our politicians are bad, naming your party GOOD is a simple, yet brilliant stroke of antidotal genius.