Thought Leadership Case Study: mPower6

Thaut Process: Audience Attunement

The Thaut Process includes finding public conversations on the web where people really speak their mind about the subject at hand.

Thaut's use of advanced linguistics to analyzing public online conversations makes it easier to find where thought leadership can have high-level positive influence.

If Thaut was making a movie, the Audience Attunement aspect would be listening to the point of view of the critics and audience.

Audience Attunement for mPower6

Thaut's Audience Attunement analysis of the marketplace for youth sports fundraising showed unmet customer values.

3 examples of those values and how mPower6's thought leadership model satisfied them distinctively:

• Growth for our Youth- With other apps, instant gratification means the youth miss “life lessons” of having to work. Conversely, by partnering with charities, mPower6 brings the lessons of contribution to others.


• Fairness- Some app fundraising companies take a very high percentage - 25%-50% in some cases. For mPower6, though, extra exposure from the charities enables mPower6 to take a more fair percentage.


• Respect- Emails asking for donations were often perceived as spam. Instead, mPower6 softens the perception of spam by promoting a higher purpose.

Thaut Process: Thought Leadership Studio

This stage involves creatively envisioning a new way of thinking for your marketplace to give them richer benefits.

Thaut's Leadership Brain Scan pulls our a clear, robust leadership position oriented around the customer. It is then clarified into models to contrast with the mental models of the marketplace with just the right tension, creating a clear path for thought leadership.

If Thaut was making a movie, Thought Leadership Studio would be writing the imaginative screenplay.

Thought Leadership Studio for mPower6

Ideas emerged from brainstorming exercises stimulating creative thinking that took into account the sincere desire of Coach David Beckley to help others.

What emerged was realizing the use of a convenient app + partnering with charities for youth sports addressed all the values others fell short on and suggests a new way of thinking for youth sports fundraising.

One "Mental Model Pair" that was derived takes the marketplace thinking from “using an app to raise money makes it easier.” to “Yes, but that can breed an entitlement mentality. We can keep the ease of the app while partnering with charities to also support the growth of our youth”.

Thaut Process: Mindshift Director

The Mindshift Director stage of the Thaut Process creates persuasive content to move the mind of the marketplace. During this stage, Model Movers, persuasive language patterns to undermine the old thinking and support the new thinking, are organized into web content like website copy, blogs, infographics, and video.

Analytics measures the impact of the Model Movers to continually make the program more effective.

If Thaut was making a movie, MindShift Director would be the directing it to bring the story to life.

mPower6 Mindshift Director

Three examples of Model Movers for mPower6:

• Shift the outcome- "It isn't just about it being easy, it's more about contributing to compassion, growth, and contribution as core values extending tour young peoples' sense of contribution and community awareness by helping those in need."
• Metaphor - "Click-to-raise apps like {competitor} that don't engage charities make fundraising like the lab mice in the experiment that kept pushing a button to get cocaine until they died . . . too easy gratification and self-focus only."
• Higher Value Outcome Attachment - "Doesn't it help the kids' growth more to get them engaged in helping those less fortunate? Doesn't it show more leadership to involve helping others as part of fundraising?"