The premier American mixed-martial arts company, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced a new multi-year sponsorship with a leader in the canned cocktail space, Monaco Cocktails. The agreement between the involved parties will solely focus on Monaco’s ready-to-drink (RTD) Hard Lemonade beverages.
As the official hard lemonade and official canned vodka cocktail of the UFC, Monaco’s Hard Lemonade line will give the company an extensive degree of integration into important UFC assets, such as live events and broadcast features in some U.S. Pay-Per-Views and significant branding within the Octagon.
The upcoming 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter, the most anticipated in the program’s history, will have former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor and No. 5 ranked lightweight contender Michael Chandler as coaches. Monaco branding will also be present inside the Octagon during that time.
Additionally, Monaco and UFC will work together to create original content for UFC’s well-known digital and social platforms, which have a global audience of more than 230 million users. The arrangement also includes a yearly brand ambassador fund that will be used to promote the collaboration through athlete appearances, content creation, and innovative initiatives.
Grant Norris-Jones, UFC Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships, said, “We’re proud to welcome Monaco Cocktails as an official UFC partner. Customer demand for ready-to-drink beverages continues grow, and UFC, with a median fan age of 36, the youngest among major sports in the U.S., UFC is in the best position to help our alcohol and spirits partners reach those consumers.”
Don Deubler, CEO of Atomic Brands, parent company to Monaco Cocktails, commented, “We’re thrilled to invite the incredible fans behind UFC into the world of Monaco Cocktails and amp up the audience’s energy through our best-selling canned cocktails. As an official partner of UFC, we’re honored to be a part of an organization that has revolutionized the fan experience. UFC and Monaco Cocktails are aligned in shaking things up for our audience – we’re excited about our joint commitment to better the consumer experience through our partnership.”
The 2012-founded Monaco Cocktails brand serves authentic cocktails that are entirely malt-free and made with real spirits for a spicier taste. To bring up bold, delectable flavours that encapsulate the taste of summer: crisp lemonade, juicy peach and fresh strawberry, Monaco developed the Hard Lemonade collection. Monaco Hard Lemonade, which contains two shots of 9% ABV vodka in each can, immediately gained a reputation as the best-canned cocktail for daring consumers seeking high-intensity moments.
Prior to highly anticipated events like UFC 288: STERLING VS. CEJUDO on May 6 and the 11th Annual UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas in July, where Monaco will have a prominent presence, the brand will launch a number of coordinated activations that will last the entire year.