Elfried Samba, Co-Founder and CEO of Butterfly Effect, is set to take the stage next month as a keynote speaker at B2BMX 2026, powered by Advertising Week.
A leading voice in community-driven marketing, Samba’s Butterfly Effect is a community-centric marketing agency helping brands grow through community-driven marketing, culture, and creativity. In its breakout year, Butterfly Effect partnered with Netflix, Bumble, McDonald’s, and Square, establishing itself as a go-to agency for culturally relevant, community-led campaigns. Samba was formerly the Global Head of Social Content at Gymshark, where he helped scale the brand’s fitness community to over 20 million followers from 1.5 million, contributing to its rise to a $1.7 billion valuation that put it in par with Nike and Lululemon.
In his B2BMX 2026 keynote Building a Sexy Brand in an Unsexy Industry, Samba will challenge conventional B2B marketing strategies and inspire a new wave of human-centric connection. His address will show capture why he is renowned for his ability to transform how brands interact with their audiences, proving that even in the most traditional sectors, creating a “sexy” brand is not about hype, but about relevance, emotion, and clarity.
We sat down with Samba to discuss the core principles from his keynote, discover how lessons from consumer culture can be applied to B2B, and learn to measure the true success of community-driven marketing.
Demand Gen Report (DGR): Elfried, thanks for taking time out of your schedule today to give a little preview of you keynote speech at B2BMX 2026. What inspired the title “Building a Sexy Brand in an Unsexy Industry” for your keynote?
Elfried Samba: Thanks for having me and look forward to meeting everyone in California next month. Because most B2B brands have accepted “boring” as a constraint instead of seeing it as an opportunity. Sexy isn’t about hype or visuals— it’s about relevance, emotion, and clarity. In B2B, you’re not trying to win over a crowd in one moment; you’re earning trust from humans one by one, often over long cycles. If you can make people feel understood in industries that are traditionally distant or complex, you unlock real differentiation.
DGR: Can you elaborate on the concept of “community insurance” and how it helps brands navigate volatility?
Samba: Community insurance is the idea that trust compounds over time. In B2B, volatility doesn’t just test products, it tests relationships. When trust has been built at an individual level, across many people, brands become more resilient. Communities give you feedback, advocacy, patience, and credibility when conditions change. It’s less about protection from risk, and more about stability through trust.
Gymshark Experience
DGR: Which Gymshark B2C community principles translate surprisingly well to B2B?
Samba: Gymshark understood how to make people feel close to the brand, even at scale. What translates well to B2B is that sense of proximity: listening, responding, and involving people rather than broadcasting at them. The difference is that in B2B, the relationships are fewer but deeper. You’re not energizing a mass audience; you’re building confidence with individuals who carry responsibility and risk.
DGR: How do you define “human-to-human brand building,” and why is it crucial in modern B2B marketing?
Samba: Human-to-human brand building is about recognizing that behind every company decision is a person. In B2B, trust is rarely built collectively— it’s built in moments, conversations, and repeated interactions. Brands that sound human, act consistently, and show genuine understanding win because they reduce uncertainty for the individual, not just awareness in the market.
DGR: What are some practical steps brands can take to turn attention into trust and trust into community? What role does creativity play in building trust and community in B2B marketing?
Samba: Attention gets you noticed, but trust keeps you relevant. Brands earn trust by being consistently useful, honest, and present— especially when they’re not selling. Community forms when individuals start to feel connected not just to the brand, but to others around it. Creativity plays a huge role here because it’s how brands express empathy, simplify complexity, and make scale still feel personal.
DGR: How do you measure the success of community-driven marketing beyond vanity metrics?
Samba: I look for depth rather than volume. Are people engaging directly? Are conversations continuing beyond content? Are relationships shortening sales cycles or increasing retention? In B2B, success shows up when individual trust starts stacking into momentum, not just when posts perform well.
Butterfly Effect Strategies
DGR: Butterfly Effect works with major brands like Netflix and LinkedIn. How do you tailor your strategies for such diverse clients?
Samba: While the audiences and cultures differ, the underlying principle stays the same: people trust people. We start by understanding who the real decision-makers are, what pressures they’re under, and how trust is earned in their world. Strategy gives us structure, but everything is designed to scale meaningful human connection without losing authenticity.
DGR: As a LinkedIn influencer, how do you apply community-first principles to your personal brand?
Samba: I approach LinkedIn as a series of one-to-one conversations happening in public. I’m not trying to speak to everyone— I’m trying to resonate with the right people. When individuals feel seen and understood consistently, community forms naturally. Scale becomes the by-product, not the goal.
DGR: What lessons from consumer culture marketing have you found most applicable to B2B marketing?
Samba: Consumer brands understand how emotion, identity, and belonging influence behavior. In B2B, those forces still exist – they’re just expressed differently. People aren’t buying products; they’re choosing partners. The lesson is that even rational decisions are shaped by how safe, confident, and understood someone feels.
