Zerotrillion Interview: Samantha Primes, Social & Influencer Lead

In conversation with Aubrey Podolsky, Partner @ Zerotrillion

TLDR:

Samantha Primes brings her own success as an influencer and tastemaker
to clients at Zerotrillion. This interview was a blast - the perfect
balance of thoughtful commentary and searing hot takes. Below are five
big quotes, and an abridged version of the longer interview.

On the Value of Social: “If social looks easy, that means someone did
their job properly.”

On Brand Deals: “You can offer someone $300K, and they’ll still say no
if they don’t respect your brand.”

On Performative Content: “We optimized for the algorithm and flattened personality.”

On Taste & Ego: “Your personal taste should inform the work, not
dictate it.”

On Standards & Craft: “If you wouldn’t defend it in front of the whole
company, don’t ship it.”

Aubrey Podolsky: Happy New Year. I’m ready to jump straight into this new interview series. Can you describe your role at Zerotrillion? What exactly is it that you would say ya do here?

Samantha Primes: I’m the global influencer and social lead here at Zerotrillion, across our three offices. I touch everything that goes out on social media or has an influencer in it.

And because of the agency’s approach and structure, I’m lucky enough to work on a lot of creative projects too. So I’m not always behind the laptop. I can be behind the camera. I could be doing makeup on set, I’ve done that many times. I’ve styled. Art directed. Done production. Lots of hats.

Aubrey: What about the structure at ZT does that?

Samantha: For me, it really feels like the best idea wins, the best work wins. It doesn’t matter if that comes from the intern, the CD, or the CEO. We’re just trying to make the client as happy as possible and put the best work out there.

Because of that, I’ve gotten opportunities, from sitting in meetings as an intern to now being in rooms I never thought I’d be in, just because the best idea wins, or the best direction wins. That structure has shown me pathways within my role that I didn’t think were possible.

Aubrey: In your day-to-day role, what would surprise a client about what you actually do behind the scenes?

Samantha: One thing that surprises clients: money can’t buy everything anymore. Brand matters. You could throw $300K at someone, and if they don’t like your brand, they don’t care. That’s the influencer landscape we’re in now. Even if you come with a million-dollar budget, if you have a bad brand, or a brand an influencer doesn’t want to be associated with, money can’t buy that.

Also, clients would probably be surprised by the amount of negotiation that goes on behind the scenes on their behalf.

Aubrey: What goes into that determination for influencers?

Samantha: I think the creator landscape hit a plateau in 2025. And with the rise of AI, it’s easier than ever to replicate. You can type: “How to become an influencer: give me a 30-day posting schedule, write the script, tell me where to shoot.” The lack of originality can be staggering.

So who you associate yourself with is something you can control. There’s a huge discourse right now about relatability.

The creators doing it right keep brand deals aligned to their world. It’s not rocket science, but you see newer creators take any deal they can get, and it hurts them in the long run.

Aubrey: Why does so much content feel like an infomercial right now? It feels like we’ve reached peak “obvious creator sponsored.” Do you feel something’s coming to replace that?

Samantha: I do. There are two streams I’m seeing.

One is the cinematographer-style creator: true storyteller mixed with high-quality cinematography. I’m seeing it constantly and it’s breaking through. You can’t replicate that with AI, and you have to have perspective. That’s what sets it apart.

The other is bare-bones authenticity, setting up the phone and just sharing what you’re doing day-to-day. It’s closer to what TikTok originally was. You can tell it’s real.

Authenticity is a lame word in my role because we’ve been saying it for five years: “get authentic creators.” But it means something different in 2026. 2025 felt like a year of performative authenticity. Now creators who have a more humanistic approach, speaking to the community like you’re a human, not just someone selling, are actually breaking through.

There are storytellers who honestly could work for us. I’ve worked with a few influencers creating agency level ads. And then someone like Courtney Cook is breaking through by just speaking to her audience like their real people while eating onion cups.

Aubrey: “Performative” is interesting. It can feel like the formula has flattened personality types, people sound the same, look the same, work to the format like TV. How do you feel like that’s going to evolve?

Samantha: If I were a talent agent, I’d tell creators: you have to show the bad and the good.

If I search “get ready with me” right now, it’s probably Pilates, matcha, the same workout set, 50 different girls doing the exact same thing. Every individual is unique, so what makes you unique? Did you buy matcha because you thought it would make you go viral? That’s burying you in the feed.

Do something unique to you instead of doing what you think will work. People want to see real people. Even Kylie Jenner is vlogging her days now, she doesn’t need to. She’s still a billionaire. But watching her brush her teeth makes people like her a little more than watching her open a Birkin.

Aubrey: What’s an absolute steadfast rule or principle you’ve developed? Something you’re willing to fight over?

Samantha: Two things.

One: your personal taste should inform your work, but it shouldn’t dictate it. Social teams get into ruts, same infographic style, same formats. You have to be malleable and adaptive to the client. Sometimes a social media manager doesn’t like a post personally, and they’re not thinking from the brand’s perspective. I’ll say: I get that you wouldn’t post it on your personal account. But if you’re the brand, let’s think. Usually the light bulb goes off.

Two: something a past creative director told me, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable putting any piece of work you’ve ever done on a big screen in front of the entire company and letting them give you feedback, it’s not ready to go out the door.

That’s how much pride you should take in your work. I’ll fight people over that. This is your name on it. You should be proud enough to defend it—to the client, to your coworkers, to yourself. If I saw my intern pump out AI slop, I’d say: defend this for me. Is this your personal work or not?

Aubrey: What’s been catching your attention in the world? TV, books, artists, things that inspired you?

Samantha: A book that took me off guard was Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. It came out 70 years ago. Reading the first pages, I felt like I’d experienced them myself. It honestly felt like time traveling. For something written 70 years ago to have that impact blew me away. It inspired me to dive deep into his work.

One of his quotes stuck with me: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it’s faced.”

That quote impacted my life and even my work. In the creative industry, you can get inundated by ideas and not know where to start. But if you don’t start, those ideas die. You have to do the work you want to see.

He inspires me in his calmness, his ability to speak across generations, and how he still to this day gives people hope. If I could spark any emotion in someone that I’ve felt while enjoying his work with something I’ve created, that would be a joy.

Second: Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. After going to Sundance and interviewing cast and directors for Racewalkers (Zerotrillion Pictures), I realized how hard it is to ask the right questions and keep flow.

Poehler makes guests feel so comfortable they tell stories they’ve never told press before. It creates these incredible sound bites, but it’s also just pure. It’s a “good hang.” We need more of that: creative people talking about what makes them tick, in a positive way, not what depresses us, but what inspires us.

And third: Doechii. I’m from Louisiana, she’s from Florida, so I’m a swamp princess too. Her album Alligator Bites Never Heal resonated with me. She’s so dedicated. She’s one of the most multifaceted artists I’ve seen, she even documented her creative process, and she’s done The Artist’s Way.

What I admire most is that she feels unapologetic. She wasn’t looking for validation. She just kept doing the work until she got her flowers.

Aubrey: Final question. Two influencers, similar reach, similar engagement, it’s a toss-up. Which one are you going with and why?

Samantha: Quality of community. I look for community conversations. Are people speaking to each other in the comments, asking questions, helping each other? If there's a community communicating within someone’s page, that’s a committed community.

If it’s just hearts and fire emojis, no one cares. That might even be bots. But if you’ve got real people—from a 70-year-old grandma to a 13-year-old girl—talking to each other? That’s community. That’s real influence.