Donatas Smailys — Co-founder and CEO, Billo
Published:
Employee advocacy for the last decade meant ‘please reshare the brand’s post’. So staff were a distribution channel. What Gap and Starbucks are doing is different: the employee is now the origination point of the creative, making native content in their own voice. And what it displaces is mostly the paid UGC and mid-tier creator spend.
What does Donatas Smailys say on The Agile Brand podcast?
Donatas Smailys, Co-founder and CEO, Billo, says: Donatas Smailys, co-founder and CEO of Billo, explains how employee creators are evolving from distribution channels into originators of native creative that can displace paid UGC and mid-tier creator spend. He outlines how briefs should emphasize direction not dictation, stresses removing fear with clear permissions, argues the program should sit in marketing with measurable conversion goals, and distinguishes reliable ordered UGC from the unpredictable but valuable perspective of employee video.
From: The Agile Brand podcast
Cite as: Donatas Smailys. (2026). On The Agile Brand podcast. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/donatas-smailys-employee-advocacy-for-the-last-decade-meant-please-reshare