I, personally, think the route branding is quite helpful.
1. The North East tops the league tables for adult illiteracy (almost 8% of the adult population failed or failed to take GCSE or CSE English, which means they didn't even get a G grade). With equivalent failures in numeracy, it means that a good portion of the customer-base will have some difficulty understanding the timetables and route numbers. Consistent brands are good for these people because they know that "it's the sky blue coloured bus"
2. For similar reasons, those with sight difficulties will have an easier time finding the right bus when it's hurtling down the street at 40mph.
3. When you're on a street shared with a number of routes, being able to have a good idea if your bus is coming before you've been able to read the destination allows you to prepare in good time, giving the driver more time to decelerate, because you can stick your hand out earlier. This makes for a more comfortable ride for everyone.
4. For the same reason you have more time to get your fare ready for the driver.
5. It raises awareness of the route amongst those that don't use the bus ("oh I didn't realise I could get that bus to here...")
To be fair, the effect is the same as the consistent use of First's "overground" colour-scheme, where this is reflected on the buses themselves.
Whatever the method that is used, I do think some kind of branding is very helpful in this city. In particular, the presence of branded buses helps discourage Go NE from using inappropriate buses on a route, because the model of bus that has been planned for a route is the most likely to actually turn up on the route.
Where Go NE have, in my eyes, done well with the information / branding / etc. on the outside of the bus, they have not done so well on the inside. I was hoping that the TV screens installed would eventually be used as part of an iBus-esque approach (tell the passenger where they are), but sadly, only the QuayLink has been outfitted with the appropriate equipment for that.