Thought I'd share one of the points I raised in the fans survey, as I've not seen it mentioned on here. I wondered if other exiled shared the problem, and also if they had any good ideas to help us (as well as the club ;-) ):

Capturing or maintaining exiled kids as fans
  - I literally gave up all hope of my son or daughter being Grimsby fans when I had kids, as we live 5 hours away in Southampton, and rarely get back. However, the one good thing about lockdown has been that I, and my son (4), have had access to all the matches this season. He has watched more (5 to 30 mins a game), and shown more interest (in players, the score, the kit, the ground, the rules, the club), than I could ever have hoped. It breaks my heart to think that this might be the only season this is possible, and that his interest will now fad away, and hers will never start. I understand, as Andrew said in an interview, getting online coverage of matches is a legal issue not a technical one, but I haven't heard people talk about this being essential to capture or keep young exiles when weighing its importance. Im not sure how many exiled kids there might be now, and in the future, so whether it even makes a dent on things.

  - weekly posted kids packs would be amazing. Could be as simple as a sticker album and wall chart at the start of the season. Each week the child can insert the GTFC logo into the next match slot. They can fill in the score after the game. Each week in the post a package arrives(or even a number of envelopes in a single bigger envelope sent once a month if it helped logistically), containing even just a sticker to go in the album, and a couple of puzzles would be exciting for the child. Obviously more is better, with make your own ground over the season, drawing, kids match day program, etc..

  - kids focused video coverage - again exiled kids simply wont be touched by any great work that happens in the coming months and years in the Town. They cannot possibly be maintained as fans, or new kids find the love of Town if they have no exposure to it. An online video program made for them would help. It could have the usual letters and pictures, interviews asking players the kids questions, mighty and mini mariner, learn a new rule about football, sing (some) of the songs ...

Anyway, would love to hear from other exiles how they get on (if anyone has had any success), as well as whether folks think these ideas are actually any use to the club.

I think the kids pack is a great idea, would be relevant for young kids here as well as exiles. I wonder if charged as a one off payment for the year for monthly packs would make it more viable eg birthday present?

They're your kids...just teach them correctly.

Any town fan that has kids who aren't Town suporters has failed as a parent . Its your duty.


:)

I have a 25% success rate with my kids. All 4 born in Kingston. Eldest (my son) is 23 and at times I think I created a monster ;in a positive sense as far as Town is concerned. He planned his uni open day visits around Town games. I took him to games from the age of about 6 (bribed him with crisps to come to BP when staying with my parents). That was 2005. Got him the shirt each year. He avidly watched DVDs of Town games, especially Liverpool 2001, of his own volition. There may have been an element of the father-son bonding in Fever Pitch about it as I’d separated from his mother. He looked to have lost interest a bit by the age of 10 but was very keen to get back into going to games when we got relegated. I also encouraged him to go to AFC Wimbledon alone with his mates who were mostly fans of lower league clubs thankfully, to ensure he got that teenage lad buzz. Worst case scenario it would insulate him from getting into Chelsea. He’s been up in Liverpool since going to uni and goes to the NW games.

I’ve not been successful with my 3 girls (21, 15 and 15). They’ve been to several games home and away, and Wembley. But it’s not stuck as well. Maybe we don’t share those geeky interest chats me and the lad have. They definitely don’t like the bogs at BP, so that’s my number one suggestion for the club. They don’t follow any other clubs.

So my top tips for the exile with kids are:
(1) get divorced
(2) bribery
(3) get lucky with his/her friends
(4) set low expectations

Good ideas for any kid not just exiles. At home could stick some in the club shop.  When the kids moans that he wants one the old man is in the shop and might spy something he wants for himself.  The club get more profits.  Everyone's a winner.

Thanks for the replies.

I agree packs would work for local kids too - a nice build up to Saturday. One off payments to enable birthday presents makes a lot of sense too.

@moosey_club that made me laugh. I think this season has given me hope that with the right tools it could happen. But if you can't watch games, it's a tough gig.

@kingstonMariner, thanks for the tips ;-). And 1/4 is good going I think.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I have a 25% success rate with my kids. All 4 born in Kingston. Eldest (my son) is 23 and at times I think I created a monster ;in a positive sense as far as Town is concerned. He planned his uni open day visits around Town games. I took him to games from the age of about 6 (bribed him with crisps to come to BP when staying with my parents). That was 2005. Got him the shirt each year. He avidly watched DVDs of Town games, especially Liverpool 2001, of his own volition. There may have been an element of the father-son bonding in Fever Pitch about it as I’d separated from his mother. He looked to have lost interest a bit by the age of 10 but was very keen to get back into going to games when we got relegated. I also encouraged him to go to AFC Wimbledon alone with his mates who were mostly fans of lower league clubs thankfully, to ensure he got that teenage lad buzz. Worst case scenario it would insulate him from getting into Chelsea. He’s been up in Liverpool since going to uni and goes to the NW games.

I’ve not been successful with my 3 girls (21, 15 and 15). They’ve been to several games home and away, and Wembley. But it’s not stuck as well. Maybe we don’t share those geeky interest chats me and the lad have. They definitely don’t like the bogs at BP, so that’s my number one suggestion for the club. They don’t follow any other clubs.

So my top tips for the exile with kids are:
(1) get divorced
(2) bribery
(3) get lucky with his/her friends
(4) set low expectations

My lad also born in Kingston (nearly 21 now), but we've lived in Beverley since he was 2 years old. Got nobbled by the plastics at primary school, and Liverpool supporter for a year or two.
I cured him of that by taking him to Town games regularly - didn't take many, even though we were terrible the whole time! He bleeds black and white now.

In terms of engaging younger fans both in the town and exiled you have to be in their eye sight.

1. Being on FIFA undoubtedly helps here.

2. When I was younger I had posters of Beckham, Zidane, Ronaldo (the fat one) etc on my wall when what I really wanted was cool posters of Mendonca, Donovan, Groves etc. Pocket money town based purchases are a must.

3. Content- content is king in a digital world and this is where we must do better as a club. YouTube is where a lot of younger fans spend their time we need to create content for the channels our fans are using and content that they can engage with. We live in a world where people are becoming brands in their own right, and brands are fast becoming personalities. If Grimsby town with a person, who would they be, what would they say, and what would they do? It comes down to internal skills because farming it all out to different freelancers makes things very disjointed.

100% success with my 3, only qualifier is all 3 support Leicester Tigers as well.

Quoted from wigworld

My lad also born in Kingston (nearly 21 now), but we've lived in Beverley since he was 2 years old. Got nobbled by the plastics at primary school, and Liverpool supporter for a year or two.
I cured him of that by taking him to Town games regularly - didn't take many, even though we were terrible the whole time! He bleeds black and white now.

Must have been not long after my eldest girl.

The Kingston town shield has three fish (salmon) so maybe that’s the key.

Quoted from Wrawby_Mariner

In terms of engaging younger fans both in the town and exiled you have to be in their eye sight.

3. Content- content is king in a digital world and this is where we must do better as a club. YouTube is where a lot of younger fans spend their time we need to create content for the channels our fans are using and content that they can engage with. We live in a world where people are becoming brands in their own right, and brands are fast becoming personalities. If Grimsby town with a person, who would they be, what would they say, and what would they do? It comes down to internal skills because farming it all out to different freelancers makes things very disjointed.

Really agree with this. Would be great to have some high quality regular content.