[CTC] AAM | Incredible tool for figures on job loss to China

[Citizens Trade Campaign]

Us: American fair trade policy reformers  

Them: NeoCon-Keepers-of-the-NAFTA-status-quo 

 

                                                            |

Positive – Us on Us                            |           Positive – Them
on Them

What do we say about ourselves      |           What they say about
themselves

                                                            |

                                                            |

Negative – Them on us                       |           Negative – Us on
Them

What they say about us                       |           What we say about
them

                                                            |

 

 

                                   Message Contrast

 

We Are About  (us)                                        They Are About
(them)

 

Public interests                                                Private
interests

Working People, Wages                                  Shareholders, Profits

Fairness
Corruption

Reform and Change                                        Status quo and the
same

Sharing
Selfishness

Community                                                     Individual 

Majority Opinion                                            Corporate Agenda

Development                                                   Consumption

Sustainable
Short-sighted

Data                                                                Theory

Creating local jobs                                          Outsourcing and
offshoring

Meritocracy                                                     Oligarchy

Health and Safety                                           Pollution

Future  Investment                                          Immediate Needs

 

What We Say About Us

 

Fair

Justice

Sustainability

Democracy

Majority Opinion

Public Interest

Honoring Hard Work

Stronger Communities

Shared Resources

Human Rights

Environment

Better Future

Utility

Inclusive

Jobs

Safe Food

Solidarity

Raise Standard Of Living

Family Unity

Preserving Community

Shared Responsibility

National Sovereignty

Local Control

Investment in Future

Healthcare

Prosperity

 

What We Say About Them

 

Greedy, Self-Serving Profit-Driven 

More of the Same Status Quo

Failed Elite

Uninformed Spin Doctors

Ignoring Incoming Data

Criminal Corporate Cronies 

Anti-Democratic Wall Street Fat Cats

Tax Evaders

Offshoring Outsourcers

Theoretical Market Fundamentalists

Short-Sided Polluters

Racing to the Bottom

Insiders Using Astroturf

On Corporate Welfare

Trickle Down Knuckle Draggers

Antiquated Ideologues

Imperialist Fascist Neocons

 

What They Say About Us

 

Protectionist and Isolationist

Anti-Trade Activists

Ill-Informed Naïve Luddites

Anti-Development

Dangerous Radicals

Anti Business

Tree Hugger Hippies

Extreme Idealists

Uneducated Smoot Hawley Lovers

Backwards In The Past

Myopic

Emotional

Communist, Socialist Anarchists

 

What They Say About Them

 

Free Market

Choice

Competition

Opportunity and Jobs

Free Enterprise

Create Wealth

Comparative Advantage

Academic Consensus

Market Solutions

Internationalists

Breaking Down Barriers

National Security

Preventing War

Inevitable

Efficiency

Prosperity, Development and Investment

Stopping Poverty

Creating Growth

Individual Responsibility

Limited Government

Invisible Hand

Liberty

Freedom

 

Positioning, Bridging, and Contrasting

 

Faced with a choice in tactics, as we engage our opponent and the target
audience, the aim is persuasion. What if they attack our weakness? Winners
counterattack, pouncing on their weak points, and then bridging the
conversation back to our own positives.

 

*      The message box reinforces your overall theme, and shows what you
need to emphasize for yourself and what you need to emphasize for your
opponent to draw a clear distinction. 

 

If we control the message, and our opponent is on the defensive, he will
waste time explaining himself. And the more he explains himself, the less he
is trusted, and the less time he has to communicate his message.

 

*      The message box allows you to start plotting defense and planning
attacks beforehand. Because you can anticipate, you can pre-empt. 

 

A campaign message box boils down the elements of our message to the bare
essence, and lets you communicate your ideas and values in a clear and
certain way which contrasts your position with the competition. The goal is
to showcase the choice and persuade your listener to pick your policy. 

 

*      The message box keeps us grounded and prevents us from becoming an
isolated echo chamber. 

 

Remember:  Concise.  Precise.  Nice.

 

Too often our messages get lost on people because we assume others are
lining up to hear what we say; we forget that we need to give them a good
reason to listen to us first. Instead, we bombard them with dry, long-winded
imperatives.  Remember:  We are competing in the information age.  We need a
foot in the door to sell our ideas.

 

Here are six tips to keep a message brief and effective.

 

1.	Write like you talk.  Use more punctuation.
2.	Write the title, headline or subject header last.  Make it tease.
3.	Avoid jargon, acronyms and legalese.  They build walls, not bridges.
4.	Write important items a day or more before needed, then edit with a
fresh eye.
5.	Do one edit where you simply remove unnecessary words or paragraphs.
6.	Edit down from your past work, which ensures repetition.
7.	Fit the message into the 27 – 9 – 3 format.

 

You have 27 words in 9 seconds to make 3 quick points. It forces clear,
concise language.  It allows for easy repetition. And you can control what
is attributed to you by the press.  (Example right here.)

 

The five C’s of Message

 

Good messages are CONCISE

 

*      Go directly to the point. Avoid complicated syllogisms. 

*      It’s a message, not a thesis.

 

Good messages are CLEAR

 

*      Use stark language. Leave no doubt about whose side you’re on. 

*      Base your message on values.

 

Good messages are CONSISTENT

 

*      Repeat, repeat, repeat. Voters are barraged with a steady stream of
conflicting information every day. Different messages dilute ability to
reach the audience. 

*      Make sure your earned media reflects what is said in your paid media.


*      Consistency and repetition reinforce the message. Consistency and
repetition reinforce the message. Consistency and repetition reinforce the
message.

 

Good messages are CONVINCING

 

*      Never, never, never lie. No short-term advantage gained through
deception is worth the loss of credibility that occurs when caught in
exaggeration. 

*      Tie the pitch to current news, an important theme, or a cultural
event.

*      Ask: Is your message relevant to the people hearing it?

 

Good messages are CONTRASTIVE

 

*      Your job is to draw a distinction between you and them.

*      Is it better to make binary choices, or let people sort it out
themselves?

 

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