COMMERCIAL ASSESSMENT · OCTOBER 2026
Gillingham FC
A levelUP® commercial assessment quantifying the cost of commercial inaction and identifying the potential to close the gap.
SECTION 00 — INTRO
INTRO
levelUP® offers commercial support to ambitious clubs. This assessment covers Gillingham FC’s digital commercial position in the club’s fifth consecutive League Two season and identifies how the club’s existing digital estate can be converted from low value add-on packages into structured, market-rate digital partnerships.
SECTION 01 — STATUS QUO
THE COST OF NOT COMMERCIALISING YOUR DIGITAL AUDIENCE
ESTIMATED ANNUAL DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY VALUE
£205k–£550k
This is an estimate led by analysis comparing Gillingham FC's digital assets vs levelUP's proprietary digital asset portfolio. Our valuation is derived by volume of the club's digital audiences vs market rate per asset.
Gillingham FC are a Kent institution with 130 years of history and a loyal supporter base across Medway. With MEMS Power Generation as front-of-shirt and training kit sponsor, C&A Building Products as back-of-shirt, Pro Parts as sleeve partner and a new fan zone sponsored by GPS Group, all shows genuine commercial momentum at the physical level.
From a digital perspective, MEMS receives the most exposure via digital channels, although it's unclear whether these are assets added as value into a physical package or included and valued at market rate. The club's website detailed digital packages on sale (July 2024) which demonstrates positive signals of intent.
But the price points reveals the most noticeable gap, with many assets offered at traditional valuation prices compared to market rate prices the audience reach demands. The pricing gap is not a reflection of Gillingham's audience size, but a reflection of how the club is currently packaging and positioning its digital assets. This assessment sets out to demonstrate how to value digital inventory to the club's commercial gain.
WHAT EXISTS VS. WHAT IS ON SALE
CURRENT DIGITAL ASSET AUDIT
Gillingham FC's digital ecosystem spans eight channels with a combined digital audience of ~300k+ followers, which is upper-tier reach for League Two. The audit below maps the audience, current commercial status and partner opportunity for each channel.
| Asset | CURRENT POSITION | Commercialised? | Status & opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok @thegillsfc | ~50k followers. Acceleration of published content from 2025 onwards; short-form match day & player content performs well. | Unmonetised, no visible brand mentions | Potential for a presenting partner with 2–3x co-branded posts per month and category exclusivity, or more sporadic brand integrations dependent on budget. |
| Instagram @thegillsfc | ~63k followers. The club's primary visual channel for match day and player content. | Visible mentions around match day content for MEMS. EFL partner content also visible and demonstrates how branded content can be integrated | Most accessible product for regional brand partners. Standalone presenting partner with matchday Stories integration and a monthly reach report. |
| Facebook GillinghamFootballClubOfficial | ~81k follows. Legacy channel with highest content post total. Established audience which skew older (usually ~35-55). | Unmonetised, no visible brand mentions | The channel enjoys an older, high-loyalty Medway demographic who haven't strayed to other platforms. The audiences is a strong fit for local financial services, home improvement or automotive brands, or bought within a multi-platform bundle for a broader audience buy. |
| X @TheGillsFC | ~90k followers. Active news and matchday channel. | Unmonetised, no visible brand mentions | The channel offers a lower commercial value per follower than Instagram, and would best be sold as part of a multi-platform bundle to drive audience reach. |
| YouTube GFCofficial | ~14k subscribers. Highlights, interviews, player features and academy content. | MEMS visible within thumbnails if not integrated within the content itself. No other brand mentions | Video content is much sought-after by brands and could offer a low-cost entry point for title or content series sponsors. More accessible than the paid-for Gills TV channel. |
| Gills TV | Subscriber-based dedicated video service for Gills fans | MEMS again receives mentions on the thumbnails if not on the content. No other brands are visible | Great opportunity for local brands looking to target specific audiences leveraging first party data. |
| Club website & app gillinghamfootballclub.com | ~11,000 monthly web & app users. News, ticketing and sponsorship packages are all visible. | Sponsors receive branding opportunities, and display media inventory available (mainly used by EFL ads) | Deeper brand integration opportunities would drive revenue included branded content, display media inventory, exclusive offers to opted-in audience. Low hanging fruit given the high intent of the visiting audience. |
| CRM / email programme | ~ est. 8k–15k registered contacts from ticketing and digital capture. Match day and club newsletters. | Not currently listed within club commercial opportunities | Accessible entry point for local partners. Presenting partner or sponsored sections on newsletter sends are a low-effort, high-frequency touchpoint for local brands. |
BENCHMARK: GILLINGHAM FC VS. PEERS
The appropriate peer set is League Two clubs with active digital channel partnerships and audience monetisation. It is estimated that Gillingham currently generates minimal commercial income from digital sponsorship against an estimated League Two range of 10–20%.
| CLUB / COMPARISON | Tier | Digital spon. % | What Gillingham should take from this |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notts County | League Two | 10-22% | The oldest club with a strong national brand following. The club enjoys partners on Instagram, YouTube and their CRM channels, with a dedicated digital commercial programme since 2023. |
| Grimsby Town | League Two | 8–18% | myenergi confirmed as sponsor with digital activation rights and exposure across social channels. A progressive digital commercial model at League Two level due to sponsor needs. |
| Rotherham United | League Two | 12–24% | Recently relegated Championship club. Structured digital presenting partnerships maintained post-relegation with digital income retained regardless of league. |
| Gillingham FC | League Two | <1% | ~300k+ combined social audiences. Digital packages on sale at low value price point, with MEMS likely receiving value as part of FOS deal. No presenting partners on any channel. |
THE DIGITAL COMMERCIAL GAP IN SUMMARY
Gillingham FC’s identified digital channel partner opportunity is £205k–£550k per year from a current low valued pricing ceiling. The digital infrastructure, audience and sales opportunities are already in place, but the gap is pricing and packaging. The audience is there, but the market-rate partners are not.
*Digital estimates are LEVELUP® projections based on publicly available audience data and League Two benchmarks. The £200k–£550k digital range covers digital assets from our asset portfolio valued at market rate for a League Two club.
SECTION 02 — BRIDGING THE GAP
DIGITAL OPTIMISATION
Now that the current situation is clear, our focus shifts to how Gillingham FC can optimise their digital sponsorship asset portfolio by creating, repricing and repackaging existing channels into structured, market-rate digital inventory & packages which would appeal to existing & prospective brands.
Asset gap identification
DIGITAL INVENTORY WHICH WE KNOW SPONSORS WANT
The following are opportunities of digital inventory Gillingham FC could package and sell to sponsors, moving beyond traditional logo placements into structured content products and media solutions. Our experience as rights holders & sponsors recognises this inventory as of high perceived value to sponsors and therefore drives high intent to purchase.
TIKTOK PRESENTING PARTNER
Presenting partner of @thegillsfc (~50k followers). Co-produced short-form videos, monthly performance reporting and category exclusivity.
MULTI-PLATFORM SOCIAL BUNDLE
Branded posts/month across Gillingham's social channel ecosystem with ~300k+ combined followers.
INSTAGRAM PRESENTING PARTNER
Presenting partner of @thegillsfc (~63k followers). Contracted branded posts/month with monthly reach reporting and category exclusivity.
MATCHDAY DIGITAL WRAPPER
Pre-match post at T-24hrs, match day Story from Priestfield, post-match reel within 90 minutes, post-match sponsored email section and a 72hr reach report across all home fixtures.
CUSTOM CONTENT + CONTENT SERIES SPONSORSHIP
Creation of custom content embedding brands into club content seamlessly, or via sponsorship of existing content series.
'INSIDE PRIESTFIELD' SERIES
A proposed behind-the-scenes series following Gillingham's players, staff and supporters through the season. Episodes on YouTube & Gills TV and supporting social clips.
AUDIENCE INTELLIGENCE
An aggregated supporter insights product covering Medway and wider Kent postcode distribution, age profiles and interests where available, supplemented by voluntary fan surveys.
DIGITAL EXTENSIONS AT RENEWAL
Adding contracted digital deliverables added to existing partnerships to drive incremental revenue from brands already associated with the club.
Example packages
DIGITAL PACKAGES WHICH WE KNOW WOULD APPEAL TO BRANDS
The following are example packages built directly from the inventory above ranging from digital extensions to existing sponsor portfolio to custom content or content sponsorship deals. Each is immediately buildable with existing assets, and pricing is benchmarked against Gillingham's comparison clubs.
FOOD DELIVERY · ENERGY DRINKS · SNACKS
TIKTOK PRESENTING PARTNER
GEN Z AUDIENCE TARGET
Named presenting partner of Gillingham's fastest-growing channel for a brand targeting 18–35 year-olds in Medway. Branded content series, named captions and category exclusivity. Become a founding-partner that grow with the audience.
LEVEL
£40k–£60k / yr
Volume
1 partner
Annual
£40k–£60k
NATIONAL EFL DIGITAL BUYERS · SKY BET · INSURANCE
MULTI-PLATFORM SOCIAL BUNDLE
FULL DIGITAL PROGRAMME
Gillingham's highest-value single digital product reaching audiences across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook with a combined ~3000,000+ followers. A lead partner position for a national brand wanting maximum visibility across the Medway market.
LEVEL
£75k–£150k / yr
Volume
Multiple possible
Annual
£75k–£150k
HOME IMPROVEMENT · KITCHENS · PROPERTY
INSTAGRAM PRESENTING PARTNER
ENGAGING CLUB CONTENT PARTNER
Named presenting partner of the club's primary visual channel for a brand. Named in all posts and bio, a branded content series and story takeovers each season, with category exclusivity and monthly reach reporting.
LEVEL
£35k–£70k / yr
Volume
1 partner
Annual
£35k–£70k
LEISURE · RETAIL · LOCAL SERVICES
CUSTOM CONTENT + CONTENT SPONSORSHIP
INSIDE PRIESTFIELD CONTENT
Embedding brands into club content seamlessly. Either via co-created videos, sponsored series segments and branded features or via sponsorship of an existing content series such as 'Inside Priestfield'. A flexible entry point for brands without a natural single-channel fit.
LEVEL
£15k–£40k / yr
Volume
1 partner
Annual
£15k–£40k
ENERGY · UTILITIES · PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
CRM / EMAIL PRESENTING PARTNER
TARGETED REACH OF LOCAL & NATIONAL AUDIENCES
Named presenting partner on the match day email digest and weekly newsletter targeting the highest-loyalty channel in the portfolio. 46+ sends per season to 8k–15k registered fans, with logo placement, a branded message slot and category exclusivity.
LEVEL
£15k–£40k / yr
Volume
1 partner
Annual
£15k–£40k
EXISTING PARTNERS · ALL CATEGORIES
DIGITAL EXTENSIONS AT RENEWAL
DRIVING REVENUE AT RENEWAL
Contracted digital deliverables added to existing partnerships at renewal driving incremental digital revenue from brands already associated with the club, without a new commercial relationship.
LEVEL
£25k–£60k / yr
Volume
Multiple possible
Annual
£25k–£60k
ESTIMATED ANNUAL DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY COST
Based on valuation of gap analysis from existing assets and levelUP asset portfolio. Valued against digital services being offered at League One peers. The six example packages alone represent the potential of £205-420k of that total.
SECTION 03 — levelUP
OUR UNIQUE PROPOSITION
Why work with us? We have worked across the sports industry for 30+ years, across clubs, rights holders, digital media owners and broadcasters, and have gained invaluable experience around the operations of commercial revenue growth in the process.
Our ambition is to offer this spectrum of knowledge and expertise to clubs who know they need to move, but might not have the resource or expertise to know where to start.
Our fractional consultancy allows clubs to start their own journey of growth, with senior-level expertise across the commercial ecosystem, working collaboratively with your existing resource base.
In summary, we aim to shape and grow the full commercial ecosystem of ambitious clubs by supporting the development of incremental and long-term revenue solutions.
“Senior-level experience, for less than the cost of an FTE.”
The levelUP promise
SECTION 04 — SUPPORT
OTHER AREAS WE CAN SUPPORT ON
OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS
VENUE OPTIMISATION
- .Conference & Events
- .Facility Optimisation
MARCOMMS, RETAIL & DATA OPTIMISATION
- .Ticketing & Membership
- .Marketing (all marcomms channels)
- .Matchday revenue
- .Hospitality
- .Retail
- .Fan data optimisation
Assessment of these subject topics would be required before a detailed analysis could be provided.
Next steps
Ready to levelUP®?
The above is simply the challenges we can see in one area of the club's ecosystem. We appreciate there are many more. What we want to show you is how we can support you to generate more revenue-making opportunities via the levelUP process. Why not book a follow-up to walk through the findings and agree a approach?
Book a follow-up