Myrto Mantika on Rethinking Authenticity and ROI in Gen Z Influencer Marketing

Authenticity has become one of the most overused words in marketing, often confused with trend participation rather than true brand alignment. In this BRIDGE conversation for the newest edition of the ‘Bridging the Gap’ series, Account Director at Bulla Myrto Mantika reflects on why authenticity for Gen Z is less about chasing cultural moments and more about creator fit, long-term relationships, measurable impact, and building strategies that balance short-term relevance with sustainable brand growth.

Q and A

You’ve spoken about producing authentic content that sells for Gen Z. What’s the biggest misconception brands still have about what authenticity actually looks like?

The biggest misconception brands have is that authenticity always equals trend participation or cultural relevance. Just because something is trending doesn’t mean it’s authentic for your brand.

Authenticity isn’t about jumping on every cultural moment, it’s about alignment. It’s about whether the product/service genuinely fits into the creator’s story and existing narrative. If the collaboration makes sense, the audience will accept it and respond positively.

Creators have strong communities for a reason. If a trend is right for them, they’ll bring it forward naturally. The most effective work shouldn't feel forced, it should feel that it just makes sense (and if it feels that it “doesn’t make sense” - that should be intentional).

Gen Z audiences move fast. How do you approach balancing short term cultural relevance with longer term brand building in your campaigns?

We often have a narrow view of what cultural relevance actually means. Because of that, some brands - especially those with more niche products or services - feel like social and influencer marketing isn’t for them, but that’s not true.

On TikTok there are hundreds of cultural moments happening across different niches every day. No brand can or should try to sit across all of them. But the creators who are right for your niche live and breathe in those spaces. They’re your gateway to relevance.

That’s why creators should never be treated as one-off tools or assumed they’re one-size-fits-all across campaigns. They should be viewed as an extension of the brand and given creative freedom where possible.

There’s a lot of pressure to prove ROI quickly in influencer and social campaigns. How do you navigate reporting and performance expectations while still building meaningful audience connection?

There’s always pressure to prove ROI quickly, and socials can be unpredictable. That’s why every step in a social strategy needs to reduce unpredictability.

Organic influencer content can vary in performance, but when the product genuinely fits within the creator’s world, you’re building on an existing relationship with their audience, which makes performance more stable.

Then creator selection needs to be based on the campaign objective (whether that’s awareness, consideration, or conversion) ensuring they have not only the right audience, but also the appetite to create something meaningful that drives results. Upfront, we align on what success looks like and report against benchmarks rather than vanity metrics. Lastly the paid strategy becomes a key. Organic creates connection; paid (if done right) creates predictability. With a strong paid strategy and the right creative formats, you can scale what works and drive measurable outcomes.

How do engagement and conversion targets influence creator selection in practice, and how do you make sure representation is not treated as an afterthought?

Engagement and conversion targets absolutely influence creator selection, but in different ways.

For engagement-led campaigns, we prioritise creators with strong, consistent engagement rates and active communities. That tells us their audience is listening, not just passively following.

For conversion-led campaigns, we look closely at content production quality/ clarity of messaging, and previous brand partnerships.

As for representation it isn’t something we “add in” later - it’s built into the strategy from the beginning. A strong influencer shortlist should reflect the different communities within the brand’s audience. If it feels narrow, it usually means the thinking was narrow.

When you first started in account management, what did you think influencer marketing was, and how has your view changed over time?

When I first started, influencer marketing felt largely about celebrities and mega-creators, big names and big followings.

My perspective shifted during my first nano-influencer campaign back in 2021. These creators had around 2,000 followers, but they delivered incredible results because of the depth of trust and loyalty within their communities.

That’s when I realised follower size has very little to do with performance. It’s one of the biggest vanity metrics in the industry and still something many brands over-prioritise.

Over time, I’ve seen some of the strongest content and commercial impact come from smaller creators who genuinely care about their audience and the brands they represent.

If someone is early in their career and wants to specialise in influencer or youth marketing today, what skill or mindset would you say matters most that doesn’t show up on a typical job spec?

I think the most important mindset is curiosity, resourcefulness, but also ownership. This industry moves fast - things go wrong, platforms change, algorithms shift, so you need to be able to think on your feet.

But you also need to genuinely care about whether the work performs. Not just whether it looks good. It’s not about just loving creative ideas but feeling responsible for results.

For me, that means understanding why something should work before it goes live. If you can explain why something should land, you dramatically increase the chances that it will, so ensuring you have an insight-driven approach is key. An insight-driven mindset, combined with ownership and resourcefulness, is what sets people apart in this industry.

About Myrto

Myrto is an Account Director at Bulla Co with over seven years’ experience in marketing communications, specialising in influencer and youth marketing. She leads strategic, performance-driven campaigns across diverse industries, helping brands build creator partnerships that drive measurable impact.

Series credit

Part of BRIDGE’s Bridging the Gap interview series.

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