The moment
July 11, 2026. UFC 329. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. International Fight Week. Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for the first time in five years.
This is not a product launch. This is a cultural detonation with a brand attached to it.
Every piece of infrastructure we build between now and July 1 exists for one reason: when a million people search for MAC Real Energy on fight night, the site holds, the product is buyable, and every single visitor goes into an email list we own and market to forever.
The energy category is $90 billion and broken. 80% of top sellers run on sugar, synthetic dyes, and caffeine spikes. No brand has combined clinically-backed clean fuel, 148 patents protecting the ingredient platform, and a global co-creator who turned down a $15M Monster deal to build something real.
Ghost sold for $1.65B. Alani Nu sold for $1.8B. Both in the last two years. Neither had Conor. Neither had goBHB. Neither had Rob O'Neill.
Prime showed what celebrity-led energy can do in year one. It also showed what happens in year two when the product does not earn the reorder. Scarcity collapses, repeat purchase craters, the brand becomes a punchline.
MAC is built differently. goBHB gives consumers a reason to come back that has nothing to do with hype.
The plan
Phase 1 — Build and be ready (now through June 30)
Three revenue channels. All built, tested, and ready to go live on July 1.
Shopify D2C
drinkmac.com. Every paid ad, every Conor post, every press mention drives here. VPV builds it. Stress test protocol is a contractual requirement before July 1.
Amazon
When Conor posts on fight night and someone skips the dot com, they go to Amazon. Listing live, FBA inventory in fulfillment centers by June 15.
TikTok Shop
Conor is one of the most searched people on TikTok with zero presence on the platform. MAC team in active direct talks. Activation pending partnership close.
Supporting channels at launch
Meta
Facebook and Instagram. Conor in all paid creative.
Google Brand
Defensive buy. His name owns fight week search.
Email + SMS
Teaser capture live immediately. The compounding asset.
Conor's Channels
500M+ reach. The most powerful organic driver at launch.
YouTube
Long-form storytelling. Dublin footage. Organic search equity over time.
Where you can buy MAC Real Energy on July 1
| Channel | Status on July 1 | Where | Shipping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify DTC | Live | drinkmac.com | National |
| Amazon FBA | Live | amazon.com — Prime eligible | Prime eligible |
| TikTok Shop | Partnership in active discussion | Activates Phase 2 if not July 1 | TBD |
| Retail | Velocity building | LA Libations distribution post-launch | Post-launch |
Phases 2 & 3 — Launch and ride the wave (July 1 → August 25)
Fight happens
Full media deployment. Influencer program live. PR blitz. Retail velocity push with LA Libations. "MAC powered the comeback" across every channel immediately.
Fight date moves
More runway. The foundation we've built doesn't pause — every channel stays live, the email list keeps growing, and the pixel keeps warming. We detonate the moment the new date is confirmed, with more data and a bigger list than we would have had on July 11.
Audience
Conor doesn't need an introduction. The audience already exists — organized, engaged, and already on the platforms we're running. The job is to understand who they are, what hook lands for each of them, and give them something worth buying.
Five customer avatars
Creative system
Every ad MAC runs before July 11 comes from one system. Four creative lanes built from the Dublin shoot, tested against Conor's real audience, scaled on what proves itself. By July 1 we know what works — and the media budget goes behind it.
Dublin shoot — what we're going for
- The only controlled Conor session before launch — week of April 20
- Lane 1: Conor on camera, telling his story, unscripted
- Lane 2: Product in hand and in frame
- Lane 3: Training and performance context
- 50+ raw clips delivered to Cameron and Rafa — this footage carries the entire creative program through July 11
What we'll know by July 1
- Which lane stops the scroll
- Which avatar responds first
- Which hook drives clicks — and which drives purchases
- The creative that proves itself pre-launch leads at launch
- The media budget scales what is already working — not what we think will work
The sequence
| Sprint | What happens |
|---|---|
|
Sprint 1 April – mid-May |
|
|
Sprint 2 Mid-May – June 30 |
|
Teaser page with email capture. Pre-launch paid traffic starts May 15. The subscribers we capture in May and June are the audience we market to on July 1 — and forever. The longer the list going in, the bigger the detonation.
Contracting VPV this week gives us the full 10–12 week build window — the smoothest path to a July 1 site that holds under fight night traffic.
The site is live. All three channels running from day one — Meta, TikTok Shop, Google brand search, email and SMS fight countdown, Amazon Sponsored Products scaling as fight-week search volume builds. Paid media ramps daily as fight night approaches. July 11 is not the start. It is the detonation.
| Date | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| July 1 – July 10 · The Lead-In | ||
| Jul 1 | Site live. All channels active. Creator seeding drops — first organic posts from seeded creators. Fight week content calendar locked. | Jordan + Rafa |
| Jul 1–8 | Email fight countdown sequence running. SMS fight week alerts activated. Paid media budget ramping daily. PR drumbeat: 2–3 fight preview pitches live to combat sports, lifestyle, and energy category media. | Jordan + Head of Brand |
| Jul 10 | Full paid deployment. Meta, Google brand, TikTok Shop at maximum approved spend. Final site check and load test. | Jordan + VPV |
- All paid channels at full approved spend from the opening bell
- Post-fight email and SMS blast within two hours of result
- "MAC powered the comeback" live across every channel immediately
- TikTok reaction content live that night — Rafa on standby
- Amazon Sponsored Products scaled night-of
- VPV & Shopify engineers on call for 72 hours
The cultural moment carries for weeks. Media keeps chasing new customers while the story is still running — the email list grows, Amazon reviews accumulate, repeat purchase rate starts to show itself. Get them in. Ship product. Build the base.
What winning looks like
Pre-launch KPI scorecard
Success defined before revenue hits. These are the metrics that confirm the machine is working correctly before the big demand window opens.
| Metric | Pre-launch (Now to July 1) | Launch window (July 1–11) | Post-wave (July 11 onward) |
|---|---|---|---|
| North star | Email list size | DTC orders placed | Repeat purchase rate |
| Paid media | Email CPL | ROAS by channel* | Subscription CVR |
| Site | Landing page CVR | Session-to-purchase rate | Average order value |
| Amazon | Listing live and indexed | BSR ranking in category | Review count and rating |
| Creative | Winning hook identified | Engagement rate by lane | UGC volume and sentiment |
| PR | Earned placements secured | Fight week media mentions | Brand search volume trend |
Revenue is not the launch KPI. The goal of July 11 is to get as many people into the funnel as possible — email, SMS, and DTC — and ship as much product as the demand window allows. The brands that built to billion-dollar exits did it on the back of a product that earned the reorder. That's what we're building toward.
* ROAS post-launch only. Pre-launch media investment is measured by email CPL and landing page conversion rate.
The spike gets them in. The product keeps them coming back.
Fight night delivers the biggest single-day audience MAC will ever have. The question isn't how many people show up — it's how many come back.
"We could be in 4,500 Walmart stores in six months easy. Unless we're turning that product on, the entire business is dead."
— James Williams, MAC Real Energy
MAC is a daily-use performance product. Volume at launch is the starting point, not the finish line. Every repeat purchase and every Amazon review is proof of concept for the retail buyers LA Libations is already talking to. The email list compounds regardless of paid spend. The ones who love it subscribe.
The repeat purchase rate is what Ghost and Alani Nu were worth. It's what MAC will be worth.
Who owns what
Social Media Manager — MH co-pilot retained through MarketerHire, reporting into Head of Brand. Owns day-to-day content execution across MAC brand channels.
The investment
MH Core Retainer — What the $30K/mo covers
| Included in retainer | What this covers |
|---|---|
| CMO leadership | Channel strategy, GTM sequencing, weekly reporting to James and Shan, founder-level communication |
| Meta paid social | Campaign architecture, audience building, creative rotation briefs, daily optimization, reporting |
| Google brand search | Campaign build, keyword coverage, bid management, fight week scaling |
| Email + SMS via Klaviyo | All flow builds, campaign calendar, list segmentation, lifecycle strategy |
| Attribution + analytics | Triple Whale setup, weekly cross-channel dashboards, founder reporting |
| Shopify agency management | Up to 1 hour weekly call with Midknight Genius — milestone accountability, QA oversight, coordination through July 1 |
MH Creative Production — Additional Package Options
Optional creative production packages — separate from the $30K core retainer and not included in the ~$449K total. Package selected after kickoff based on production volume and channel priorities.
- High-volume hook, offer, and format testing
- Rapid iteration model
- Ideal for pre-launch message validation
- Static and video for paid and organic
- In-feed iteration and hook testing
- Right scale for a launch creative program
- Paid, email, landing pages, and marketplace
- Unified creative system across all channels
- Maximum output — post-launch scale
No brief, no work started. Impact and learning velocity over volume. Better inputs drive faster throughput and stronger outputs.
Paid Media
| Phase | Daily Spend | Duration | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 — Teaser + email capture May 15 – Jun 30 |
$700/day | 47 days | ~$33K |
| Phase 2 — The lead-in Jul 1 – Jul 10 |
Ramps to $10,000/day · heaviest final 48 hrs | 10 days | ~$50K |
| Phase 3 · Fight Night + The Wave · Jul 11 – Aug 25 | |||
| Fight night Jul 11 |
$15,000–20,000/day | 1 day | ~$18K |
| Day after Jul 12 |
$10,000–15,000/day | 1 day | ~$12K |
| Hot window Jul 13–25 |
$5,000–7,500/day | 13 days | ~$81K |
| Sustained wave Jul 26–Aug 25 |
$2,000–3,000/day | 31 days | ~$80K |
| Phase 3 subtotal · 46 days | ~$191K | ||
| Total media through August 25 | ~$274K | ||
If the product is moving and ROAS is there, the media ceiling goes up. That conversation happens in real time with the data to back it.
Total Investment — MH Managed
| Bucket | Owner | Est. cost through Aug | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| MH retainer | MH invoice | $30K/month · ~$128K through Aug 25 | Active |
| Media Phase 1 — Teaser + email capture (May 15–Jun 30) | Founder budget · Jordan manages | ~$33K | Approval needed |
| Media Phase 2 — Lead-in (Jul 1–10) | Founder budget · Jordan manages | ~$50K | Approval needed |
| Media Phase 3 — Fight night + the wave (Jul 11–Aug 25) | Founder budget · Jordan manages | ~$191K | Approval needed |
| Amazon Ads Manager co-pilot ★ | MH invoice | $6K/month · ~$26K through Aug 25 | Approval needed |
| TikTok Ads Manager co-pilot ★ | MH invoice | $5K/month · ~$21K through Aug 25 | Approval needed |
~$402K
~$47K
What we need from this meeting
-
1
Full budget sign-off
Approve the ~$449K total investment — MH retainer (~$128K), all three phases of media (~$274K), and the Amazon and TikTok Ads platform specialists (~$47K). With this confirmed the team is ready to move immediately.
-
2
Conor content access protocol
This unlocks everything downstream. James or Shan to connect Jordan with the single point of contact on Conor's team for creative approvals, content requests, and post timing. Without a named POC the creative pipeline stalls every time something needs sign-off — and 10–12 weeks goes fast. Creative velocity from May 15 forward depends on this being in place now.
-
3
Midknight Genius sign-off
Verbal approval to contract this week. Midknight has a 2–3 month build window — the sooner they kick off, the more runway we have going into July 1.
-
4
Fight contract confirmation
Where do things stand and is July 11 confirmed?
-
5
Production run: unit count and pack configuration per SKU
Five flavors confirmed. Unit quantities and pack configuration — singles vs. variety packs — confirmed by May 1. This locks the Amazon listing structure and FBA setup so the PO is placed on schedule.
-
6
TikTok Shop deal status
A status update on the direct talks and expected timeline to close. This determines whether TikTok Shop is live at July 1 launch or activated as Phase 2.
-
7
Head of Brand — close the search
The search is active and candidates are in the pipeline. Landing the right person unlocks the organic and PR strategy — the brand channel starts building toward July 1 the day this hire is in seat.
-
8
Open vendor channel ownership
Three channels need a confirmed owner before July 1: Amazon marketplace management, Amazon 3PL and FBA inventory logistics, and TikTok Shop campaign management once the partnership closes. James and Shan to confirm who leads each — founder-managed, agency, or a new hire — so every channel has someone accountable and building from today.
-
9
Social Media Manager + MH co-pilot fees
MH is actively sourcing candidates for day-to-day content execution across MAC brand channels. JD is written and the search is underway. In addition, two platform specialists are being added to the team: an Amazon Ads Manager at $6K/month and a TikTok Ads Manager at $5K/month — both included in the ~$449K total above and separate from the core CMO retainer.
Retail Launch Support Plan
Prove velocity in the first stores. Every case that sells in Vegas and LA is the data point LA Libations needs to pick up the phone and add 2,000 more doors. This is not an awareness play. This is a proof of concept that unlocks the retail rollout.
Paid media only — geo-targeted social, out of home, and influencer seeding across Vegas and LA · Allocated from within the Phase 3 sustained wave budget (Jul 26–Aug 25) when DTC media intensity steps down and retail velocity becomes the priority · Does not dilute launch or fight night DTC spend · Does not include event production, street team, or sampling activation
Connor is already in market. Every person in Vegas that week is there because of him. The job is to make MAC Energy impossible to miss.
- Geo-targeted paid social — Meta and TikTok ads in the zip codes around every retail location in Vegas. Connor's face, the product, store locator CTA. Anyone in market during fight week sees it.
- Local PR — Fight week pitches to Las Vegas media, sports outlets, and local TV covering Connor's return. A natural story that costs nothing to place.
- Street team activation — Branded team outside T-Mobile Arena and along the Strip leading into July 11. Hand out cans, collect emails via QR code, direct people to retail locations carrying MAC. Budgeted separately from media.
- Watch party partnerships — Two to three bars and venues showing the fight. MAC Energy is the official energy drink of the watch party. Branded signage, product on the bar, social content from the venue on fight night. Budgeted separately from media.
Product moving off shelves fast enough that LA Libations has the numbers to go broader across the West Coast.
- Geo-targeted paid social — Sustained Meta and TikTok ads in the zip codes around every retail door in greater LA. Connor stops the scroll. The creative does the work. Primary digital driver for retail awareness.
- Out of home — Connor's face on a digital billboard on Sunset Boulevard or the 405. Programmatic digital OOH targets the exact zip codes where MAC is on shelves. Cost effective, high impact, impossible to miss.
- Ryan Garcia — Southern California product, Riverside trained, August fight on the horizon. Ryan posting about where to find MAC in LA is a targeted local moment that complements Connor's global announcement. His audience skews exactly right for this market.
- Store locator — drinkmac.com needs a store locator live on July 1. Every email, SMS, and piece of content drives people to find MAC near them.
- Email and SMS — Segmented by geography. Anyone who opted in from an LA area IP gets a find us near you message on July 1 with a direct store locator link. Warm audience, zero incremental cost.
- Local influencer seeding — 10 to 15 LA based creators in fitness, lifestyle, and MMA seeded ahead of July 1. Product in a real store posted by a real person in that community drives foot traffic.
Exact locations and zip codes in Vegas and LA. Geo-targeting, out of home placement, store locator, and influencer briefing all build from that list. The sooner we have it the sooner we can activate.
The energy category hasn't seen
a moment like this in years.
A globally recognized co-creator who turned down $15M because he believed in building something real. A patented ingredient that gives consumers a reason to come back. A fight night that will put MAC Real Energy in front of billions of people simultaneously.
Ghost built to $1.65B. Alani Nu built to $1.8B. Neither had Conor. Neither had July 11.
The plan is built. The team is ready. Every channel will be loaded, tested, and live on July 1 — so that when fight night hits, all we have to do is scale what's already working.
Jordan and the MH team are ready to build it.