Big Dicee didn’t land his first meaningful brand deal by acting like a spokesperson.

He landed it by acting like himself—specifically, one of the characters he already plays: a college basketball scout.

That detail matters, because it’s 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 players—the 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 Dicee’s 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 “Radar Page” profile with highlights, stats, grades, measurables, then use a tool it calls “The Recruiter” to select divisions and schools and send messages to coaches. Athlete Narrative also says an AI assistant (“HOPE”) can help write the email.

That aligns with Dicee’s 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.

That’s the part most people miss when they talk about “influencer marketing.” Follower count is only the top of the funnel. What brands actually pay for is trust inside a specific audience.

Athlete Narrative isn’t trying to reach “everyone who likes basketball.” They’re 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

Dicee’s content sits right in the middle of that reality—especially 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 doesn’t match their voice.

Dicee’s advantage is he doesn’t have to pretend. The product fits his character.

He can incorporate Athlete Narrative into his existing basketball videos as:

• the “scout” asking for a player’s Radar Page
• the “scout” reacting to a player’s measurables/grades/film
• a comedic bit where the “scout” shows how athletes should reach out properly
• a punchline about “send it to coaches in one tap”

That’s not just entertaining—it’s functional education wrapped in comedy, aimed at exactly the people who would use a recruiting tool.

Meanwhile, Athlete Narrative’s site leans heavily into “easy-to-build profile” and “email coaches quickly” messaging, which makes the integration clean and believable.

What the deliverables are

Dicee says the partnership fulfillment is:

• minimum 1 video per month

That’s it. No messy 10-post bundle. No “spam your Story 8 times.” This is a straightforward monthly integration.

Big Dice x Athlete Narrative Partner Content

Why this deal is a case study for the “Creator Mainstream”

This partnership signals a shift that’s 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 isn’t “a sports fan.” It’s a high school athlete actively trying to get recruited (plus parents). That’s not a mass-market audience. It’s 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 doesn’t break the creator’s content

That’s 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

Dicee’s deal blueprint is repeatable:

1. Build a character or content lane that attracts a specific community
2. Drive engagement with that exact community (not random virality)
3. Make your content naturally compatible with a product category
4. When brands reach out, keep deliverables simple and sustainable
5. Make integrations native, not scripted

This is how creator marketing becomes “mainstream”: not through celebrity endorsements, but through creators who feel like part of the audience they’re speaking to.

Paul Frazier

Contributor. Thinking through my fingers.

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Starbucks just locked in one of the cleanest “creator mainstream” brand plays we’ve 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 weren’t disclosed, but the structure is clear: on-screen integration + in-store activation + creator-channel amplification—the full flywheel.

What the Starbucks x MrBeast deal includes

1) Starbucks inside “Beast City” — 24/7

Starbucks will have a physical presence inside Beast City, the contestants’ 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 “Cannon Ball” 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 Açaí + 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 “inspired by” the show—it’s connected to a specific on-screen moment: it’s featured in the “Cannon Ball Challenge” in Episode 204, debuting Jan. 14 (same day the drink launches).

5) A MrBeast YouTube integration

Starbucks also appears outside the show via MrBeast’s YouTube, including a Starbucks moment in his “30 Days in the Sky” challenge video (released Dec. 20).

Why this deal matters

This isn’t a typical influencer post or limited collab cup. It’s Starbucks treating MrBeast like prime-time entertainment, because that’s what he is now.

Marketing Dive framed the strategy as Starbucks tapping MrBeast’s younger fanbase through season-long show presence + a limited-edition menu item—the 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. Starbucks’ global chief brand officer Tressie Lieberman said the goal was to make Starbucks feel like “home” on set and bring fans into the experience via the Cannon Ball drink. On the Beast Industries side, SVP Beau Avril described Starbucks as “powering the competition” 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

Paul Frazier

Contributor. Thinking through my fingers.

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