A fresh
approach
to football
fan insight.
Sincil Bank / Est. 1884An invitation to pioneer a new kind of qualitative football insight with Gatherer: first-hand research exploring the emotional connections behind what’s happening now, and what could come next.
×Lincoln City already sets the gold standard for fan engagement. We’d like to build on that with you.
Gatherer brings first-hand qualitative research that gets beneath the numbers: exploring what the club means to people, what shapes their relationship with it, and where new opportunities for growth might lie.
Most clubs know who comes through the turnstiles.
We help you understand the tribes behind the demographics.
You know what they’re spending.
We’ll help you understand what they’re thinking.
You know 10% of the city fills the stands on matchday.
We’ll help you understand what could bring in more of the 90%,
and what that could be worth.
Stay ahead of the game.
Let’s start with a pilot.
A first-hand study of Lincoln City’s supporters, shaped around the club’s priorities. We’ll explore their experiences, understand what matters to them, and identify opportunities the club can act on.
Lincoln would become Gatherer’s first football club partner. In return for the founding rate, we ask to name the club in our portfolio, and for a testimonial if you’re happy with the work.
What could we explore together?
Six themes to start the conversation. We’ll agree the focus with you.
Tribes
Who are the Imps, beyond age bands and postcodes? The tribes behind the demographics: what each one wants from the club, how they differ, and what each is worth.
Mind the gap
The ticket price doubles at 18 and rises again at 22. Who falls off the steps, why, and the strategies most likely to close the gap: a price, a product, or something else entirely.
Matchday value
What makes a matchday feel worth the money? What do supporters value most, and what would they welcome that the club doesn’t yet offer?
From console to concourse
How do we foster a sense of belonging to capitalise on the e-sports presence?
Learning from another sector: powersports brand Polaris put its vehicles in Call of Duty and reached millions of 20-somethings. What it never built was the membership infrastructure that would have carried them from the game to the Polaris rental parks and the showroom, so the belonging had nowhere to land.
Lincoln is already in the game: Imps Esports competes in the VPG UK Pro Series on EA FC. The question is what the thread looks like: from playing as the Imps to a first match and a membership. We’d speak to gamers to map what would carry them from the console to the concourse, and what each step is worth.
The handover
How does supporting Lincoln pass from one generation to the next? What keeps that connection alive, where does it break, and how can the club help new generations make it their own?
What next?
What would supporters love to see Lincoln do next? Which ideas excite them, what would they actually use, and where could the club try something new?
How it works.
Agree the focus
We start with a conversation about the club’s priorities: what you want to understand, which decisions the research could inform, and whose experiences we need to hear. Together, we agree a clear brief before the fieldwork begins.
- A main contact to help shape the brief and discuss the findings.
- Relevant ticketing data, where useful to the agreed research.
- Access to the concourses on one matchday.
- Introductions through the Fan Advisory Board and Foundation, alongside our own recruitment beyond the club’s networks.
Recruitment
Your research is only as good as the people you speak to, so we start with a map.
We explore supporter groups, local communities, and online networks to find people with different experiences of the club. Each conversation can introduce us to someone new, while we keep checking whose perspective is missing.
Some introductions come through the club. We also recruit independently, reaching beyond its existing networks.
Map the world. From Gatherer’s method series, “Finding the right people”.
Conversations & matchdays
We spend 45 to 60 minutes with each participant, in person or on video. There’s time to hear their stories, explore what the club means to them, and follow up on things we hadn’t thought to ask.
We’ll also be at Sincil Bank on a matchday, interviewing fans in person and hearing their perspectives while the experience is fresh.
With permission, we record and transcribe the conversations and take photographs. This gives us a detailed record to work from, with every quote traceable to its source.
Thematic saturation. Schematic, not study data.
The reveal
We bring the findings to life in an interactive reveal, combining supporter stories, audio clips, photography, and clear recommendations.
Explore what matters to different supporters, where the opportunities lie, and what the club could do next. We’ll discuss the findings with your team and agree how to assess the most promising ideas.
It’s yours to use and share: with colleagues, the board, supporters, or commercial partners.
Drag the price. Watch the room change.
Illustrative model of 48 interviews from a real Gatherer price study. Participants anonymised. In the Lincoln reveal, the room would be your supporters.
Agree the priorities and scope. Map supporter networks and begin recruitment.
In-depth conversations, including interviews with fans at Sincil Bank on a matchday.
Bring the findings together. Develop recommendations and assess their commercial potential using relevant club data.
Present the findings, discuss next steps with your team, and hand over the interactive reveal.
Keep close to your supporters.
The pilot is a starting point. If it proves useful, we can keep exploring with you as the club’s priorities change.
A fresh piece of supporter research each quarter, with a focus we agree together. Each comes with an interactive reveal, practical recommendations, and new perspectives to help the club make decisions.
Over time, these build into a record of what matters to Lincoln’s supporters, how that changes, and what the club does in response.
Proposed next steps.
A fresh approach to football insight. Real conversations with fans, brought to life through an interactive experience, with clear opportunities for the club.