Late last week I had the opportunity to watch a local theatre production on ethnic prejudice and the subject of abortion here in Nairobi.  Those are two topics usually presented separately.  Putting them together well requires very good writing skills and probably a third thread in the story to tie them together.

The third thread was not clear from this play.  Some people got the story at the end and some still had to have the plot explained.  It was like watching two different productions on the same stage.  It was confusing.  What exactly was the play about?  Was it about abortion or ethnicity in politics?  It was actually about the labels we give others i.e. failure, all Kikuyus are thieves etc.

Some brands do this all the time.  They present confusing messages that leave the consumer wondering exactly what it is the company is trying to say.  Or worse still, exactly what the company does.  This is a symptom of brand strategy being out of sync with business strategy.