Myriah Castillo Speaks at 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Conference

At the Ad Age Small Agency Conference, Joybyte President Myriah Castillo joined the debate “Creator vs. Creative—Who Shapes the Future of Ideas?” to challenge one of marketing’s biggest assumptions: that great ideas begin in the boardroom.

Drawing on Joybyte’s experience building creator-led growth systems, Myriah argued that creators shouldn’t replace creative strategy—they should inform it. Rather than treating creators as a distribution channel or the final step in a campaign, brands should view them as one of their most valuable learning systems, uncovering cultural signals, audience insights, and the ideas worth scaling. By listening to creators first, creative strategy becomes rooted in real audience behavior instead of assumptions.

The session explored how creators and agencies aren’t competing for ownership of ideas—they’re solving different parts of the same problem. Creators surface what resonates in the real world, while creative teams transform those insights into compelling brand experiences. As Myriah concluded, the shift isn’t from creative to creators—it’s from assumptions to evidence, and from planning to listening.

Photography Credit: Ciara Cusseaux Photography