Is VeeCon The Next SXSW? How Gary Vaynerchuk Is Expanding His Brand

“This is a conference like no other — and will be the marketing industry event for years to come,” Gary Vaynerchuk said as he took the stage at VeeCon the other week.

The 3-day event took over the city of Indianapolis, featuring over 190 speakers taking the stage at Lucas Oil Stadium including Jessica Alba, Arianna Huffington, Drew Barrymore, Daymond John, Timbaland, Neil Patrick Harris, and Scooter Braun as well as performances from comedian Andrew Schulz and singer Jordin Sparks.

After spending several days there myself, it’s clear that VeeCon is taking a different approach to the world of conferences and events. I had the chance to speak on-stage at VeeCon, talk with many of the attendees, and interview Vaynerchuk himself about the conference’s origin, his plans to grow it alongside VeeFriends, and the legacy he hopes to leave.

​​Last year marked the inaugural VeeCon which was tied to the launch of VeeFriends, Vaynerchuk’s collectibles project. Now in year two, VeeCon aims to become a “super conference” mixing the best of business, innovation and pop culture with its variety of performers, executives, and art exhibits under the same roof.

In other words, imagine the early days of SXSW crossed with Davos but with Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends branding, characters, and values laying the foundation. During our discussion, Vaynerchuk told me that the idea for both VeeCon and VeeFriends has been brewing in his mind for over a decade.

In the past ten years, Vaynerchuk saw an opportunity to build his own intellectual property beyond his personal brand, which he half-jokingly attributed to being a fan of Marvel comic books, Pokémon cards, and other collectibles. As Vaynerchuk explained, the VeeFriends’ universe of characters is the basis for stories across movies, television, books and more mediums in the coming years.

During that same time period, Vaynerchuk had been traveling the world as a public speaker, started his own speaking bureau VaynerSpeakers (which in full disclosure, I’m on their speaking roster), and saw an opportunity to create his own event to foster deeper connections.

“I knew that I wanted this to be very community driven,” Vaynerchuk said. “What I think a lot of you are gonna see here, if you weren’t here last year, is just the way the thousands and thousands of people that are here interact with each other — the graciousness, the civility. It’s a real thing, I think you’ll take note.”

That graciousness and civility is part of why he chose to have the conference in Indianapolis, rather than Vegas, Miami, or New York.

“I think the Midwest nice thing is real,” Vaynerchuk continued. “I don’t think it’s coincidental that the first two places that we’ve done this are in cities and towns that I deem having nice people.”

In addition to the practical aspect of Indianapolis having a large airport, hotels, and event spaces — Vaynerchuk wanted VeeCon and VeeFriends to take over the city. For example, upon landing in Indianapolis, the airport was covered in VeeCon branding from the columns and floors, something that would’ve currently been impossible — or highly costly — to do in Los Angeles or Miami’s airports

“I’m incredibly excited and grateful to bring a phenomenal line up of industry icons, business leaders, and brand partners to Indianapolis,” Vaynerchuk said. “Our event focuses on what matters for business – understanding shifts in consumer behavior, popular culture and the impact of technology on brands.”

True to form, the event itself did not feel like a run-of-the-mill business conference. Day one was a field day featuring games, art exhibits like a VeeFriends Museum and signature GaryVee Garage Sale, and a performance by Busta Rhymes.

The next few days featured a packed house to see standout comedian Andrew Schulz take the stage followed by Jordin Sparks moving the crowd to “No Air” and her other hits.

But perhaps the most unique parts of VeeCon were the conversations between the main sessions and performances. Throughout each event, VeeCon buzzed with conversations and connections. While last year’s conference may have been a proof of concept, VeeCon 2023 and beyond are building the framework for what the event —as well as the VeeFriends as a brand — can be long term.

That long term framework begins with developing the VeeFriends characters into culturally relevant figures that can live beyond Vaynerchuk himself. Vaynerchuk himself admits that his personal brand isn’t for everyone. When describing VeeFriends, he made this comparison to Batman:

“What’s amazing about owning something like a Disney or a Sesame Street or a Pokémon, is you can get to everyone,” Vaynerchuk emphasized. “Batman, the movies, are for grown ups. Avengers? Grown ups. But then Batman also shows up in the Lego Movie for four year olds. And I want to do that with my characters.”

To accomplish this, Vaynerchuk is first developing his VeeFriends’ characters for younger audiences. Empathy Elephant (pictured left), Accountable Ant, Patient Pig, Gratitude Gorilla are just a few of the VeeFriends he plans to develop into children’s books and other mediums.

“We’re spending hours and hours on who is Resilient Red Devil. Where did he come from? Who are his parents?” Vaynerchuk said. “If I make Accountable Ant really cool and there’s a kids book, maybe that inputs something positive. I think if you can get to affecting people at a younger age you can actually make a humongous impact.”

Vaynerchuk also revealed the true scale he sees for VeeFriends, saying the next 50 years of his life will be dedicated to building these characters.

“When people try to talk to me about VeeFriends as a thing I’m like — you’re talking about my two and a half year old child and you’re acting as if it’s a 68 year old grownup. I’m like 14 seconds into this thing ,” Vaynerchuk said.

“I know what I’m trying to achieve,” Vaynerchuk continued. “It will be a multimedia brand. I will need to do apparel. I will need to do action figures. I will need to do trading cards and collectible pins and touring conferences and a circus and a theme park and a movie. I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Vaynerchuk said. “If I don’t win on YouTube Kids, none of it’s going to happen.”

But building the next Batman or Pokemon from scratch is no easy feat. Can Vaynerchuk create a piece of culture that reigns beyond himself for decades to come? Only time will tell but perhaps comedian Andrew Schulz summed it up best during his standup set on stage at VeeCon.

“In all seriousness, I do really believe in Gary and I believe that Gary can accomplish whatever he dreams of,” Schulz said.

He wasn’t alone in sharing that sentiment. After spending three days at VeeCon, it’s clear many people not only believe in Vayernchuk but in what he’s building with VeeCon. After all, if speakers like Alba, Huffington, and Barrymore and thousands of people are attending in year two, then VeeCon could very well become a cornerstone conference alongside the likes of SXSW in the coming years as VeeFriends becomes a bigger part of culture and media.