Deals
Big Dicee Converts College Scout Character Into Brand Deal
Micro creator leverages 16k Instagram followers into recurring brand partnership
Big Dicee didnโt land his first meaningful brand deal by acting like a spokesperson.
He landed it by acting like himselfโspecifically, one of the characters he already plays: a college basketball scout.
That detail matters, because itโs the entire reason this partnership works. Athlete Narrative, an AI-powered recruiting app, reached out to Dicee directly via Instagram DM when he had around 16,000 followers, after noticing strong engagement from young basketball playersโthe exact demographic the product is built for (high school athletes trying to get recruited). The deliverable is simple: a minimum of one video per month, integrated natively into Diceeโs existing content style.
Big Dicee’s Video That Led To Athlete Narrative’s Inquiry
What Athlete Narrative is (in plain English)
Athlete Narrative positions itself as a recruiting tool that helps student athletes build a profile and contact coaches faster.
On its site, the company describes a flow that looks like this: athletes create a โRadar Pageโ profile with highlights, stats, grades, measurables, then use a tool it calls โThe Recruiterโ to select divisions and schools and send messages to coaches. Athlete Narrative also says an AI assistant (โHOPEโ) can help write the email.
That aligns with Diceeโs description: input your info and footage, generate an email template, and send coach outreach with a few taps.
Why Athlete Narrative chose Big Dicee
Dicee says the company selected him for one reason: his engagement with young hoopers.
Thatโs the part most people miss when they talk about โinfluencer marketing.โ Follower count is only the top of the funnel. What brands actually pay for is trust inside a specific audience.
Athlete Narrative isnโt trying to reach โeveryone who likes basketball.โ Theyโre trying to reach:
- athletes who genuinely want recruitment opportunities
- parents who want a clean system
- players who are already thinking about film, stats, grades, and outreach
Diceeโs content sits right in the middle of that realityโespecially because he already runs a scout persona that speaks the same language as recruiting culture.
The integration that makes this deal work
The easiest way to kill a creator partnership is to force a creator into a script that doesnโt match their voice.
Diceeโs advantage is he doesnโt have to pretend. The product fits his character.
He can incorporate Athlete Narrative into his existing basketball videos as:
- the โscoutโ asking for a playerโs Radar Page
- the โscoutโ reacting to a playerโs measurables/grades/film
- a comedic bit where the โscoutโ shows how athletes should reach out properly
- a punchline about โsend it to coaches in one tapโ
Thatโs not just entertainingโitโs functional education wrapped in comedy, aimed at exactly the people who would use a recruiting tool.
Meanwhile, Athlete Narrativeโs site leans heavily into โeasy-to-build profileโ and โemail coaches quicklyโ messaging, which makes the integration clean and believable.
What the deliverables are
Dicee says the partnership fulfillment is:
- minimum 1 video per month
Thatโs it. No messy 10-post bundle. No โspam your Story 8 times.โ This is a straightforward monthly integration.
Big Dice x Athlete Narrative Partner Content
Why this deal is a case study for the โCreator Mainstreamโ
This partnership signals a shift thatโs happening across the creator world:
Micro creators with the right audience can outperform big creators with general reach.
Because for a company like Athlete Narrative, the ideal customer isnโt โa sports fan.โ Itโs a high school athlete actively trying to get recruited (plus parents). Thatโs not a mass-market audience. Itโs high-intent.
This is the same pattern you see in the most effective creator marketing:
- niche creator
- niche audience
- product that solves a real problem
- integration that doesnโt break the creatorโs content
Thatโs how a 16K creator becomes more valuable than a 500K creator who reaches the wrong people.
The bigger takeaway for creators trying to land deals
Diceeโs deal blueprint is repeatable:
- Build a character or content lane that attracts a specific community
- Drive engagement with that exact community (not random virality)
- Make your content naturally compatible with a product category
- When brands reach out, keep deliverables simple and sustainable
- Make integrations native, not scripted
This is how creator marketing becomes โmainstreamโ: not through celebrity endorsements, but through creators who feel like part of the audience theyโre speaking to.
Deals
Starbucks Teams With MrBeast for Beast Games Season 2
Starbucks x MrBeast is official: the coffee giant is โpoweringโ Beast Games Season 2
Starbucks just locked in one of the cleanest โcreator mainstreamโ brand plays weโve seen this year: a multi-surface partnership with MrBeast tied to Season 2 of Beast Games: Strong vs. Smart, premiering on Prime Video on Jan. 7, 2026.
Financial terms werenโt disclosed, but the structure is clear: on-screen integration + in-store activation + creator-channel amplificationโthe full flywheel.
What the Starbucks x MrBeast deal includes
1) Starbucks inside โBeast Cityโ โ 24/7
Starbucks will have a physical presence inside Beast City, the contestantsโ living quarters, where competitors get complimentary 24/7 access to Starbucks drinks and food.
2) Surprise prizes during the competition
Starbucks is also baking rewards into the show itself with surprise prizes for contestants throughout the season.
3) A limited-time โCannon Ballโ drink in U.S. stores
Starbucks is launching a new Starbucks Refreshers drink called the Cannon Ball, described as a lemonade-based mix of Strawberry Aรงaรญ + Mango Dragonfruit Refreshers, topped with fruit inclusions. It hits Starbucks stores in the U.S. for a limited time starting Jan. 14, 2026.
4) The drink is tied to an on-screen challenge
The Cannon Ball drink is not just โinspired byโ the showโitโs connected to a specific on-screen moment: itโs featured in the โCannon Ball Challengeโ in Episode 204, debuting Jan. 14 (same day the drink launches).
5) A MrBeast YouTube integration
Starbucks also appears outside the show via MrBeastโs YouTube, including a Starbucks moment in his โ30 Days in the Skyโ challenge video (released Dec. 20).
Why this deal matters
This isnโt a typical influencer post or limited collab cup. Itโs Starbucks treating MrBeast like prime-time entertainment, because thatโs what he is now.
Marketing Dive framed the strategy as Starbucks tapping MrBeastโs younger fanbase through season-long show presence + a limited-edition menu itemโthe kind of integrated play that turns a partnership into a cultural moment instead of a one-day ad.
And Starbucks is positioning it exactly that way. Starbucksโ global chief brand officer Tressie Lieberman said the goal was to make Starbucks feel like โhomeโ on set and bring fans into the experience via the Cannon Ball drink. On the Beast Industries side, SVP Beau Avril described Starbucks as โpowering the competitionโ and helping contestants recharge.
Quick Beast Games Season 2 context
- Series: Beast Games: Strong vs. Smart
- Premiere: Jan. 7, 2026 on Prime Video (3 episodes at launch)
- Finale: Feb. 25, 2026
- Prize (per Starbucks release): $5,000,000