The other side may well have some compelling values in their arsenal and you‘ll be in big trouble if you battle within their frames.

Thankfully the other side of that coin is that if they’re battling on your values you’ve already won.

The Medicare debate was a good example of a values versus values contest:

In the case for a co-payment the Conservatives evoked values like, ‘the need to live within our means’ and ‘the fairness of user pays’.

Progressives made the point that, ‘one of the great things about Australia is that everyone – no matter how much money they have – has a right to see a doctor if they’re sick’.

Progressives didn’t win this argument by contesting the values evoked by Conservatives. They won by trumping their opponents values with a much stronger moral point.

Smart campaigns rarely waste too much time countering good points on the other side. They ‘frame’ the debate around their own positives.

Our research is about uncovering the powerful values on your side and so you can put them at the forefront of everything you say and do.