MARCON 2026: A Recap and a Love Letter to OKC’s Marketing Community

If you’ve never been to MARCON, let me tell you what you’re missing.

Every April (or March, depends on the year!), hundreds of marketers from across Oklahoma City and beyond come together for two days of learning, connecting, and honestly just being around other people who get it. Agency folks, corporate teams, small business owners, college students, seasoned CMOs. All in the same room, all there for the same reason.

I’ve been to every single MARCON, and this year at the Omni Hotel in downtown OKC was no different — it somehow manages to top itself every time.

A little background

MARCON was born out of a simple observation: Oklahoma City’s marketing community deserved its own conference. One AMA OKC board member saw that gap and decided to do something about it. The first two years sold out completely, and it became clear pretty quickly that we’d outgrown our original home, the Will Rogers Theatre. Expanding felt less like a choice and more like an obligation to the community we were trying to serve.

Now in its fifth year, MARCON has become something this city can genuinely be proud of.

The speakers are a big part of why

One of the things that makes MARCON special is the range of people who show up to speak. We’re talking national names who have traveled across the country to be here, alongside homegrown Oklahoma talent, and somehow it all feels like one cohesive community rather than a lineup of strangers.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from speakers like Mike Beckham, co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, an OKC-born company that’s become one of the most recognizable brands in the country. Paycom, another Oklahoma City success story and longtime MARCON sponsor, has sent some of their top marketing leaders to the stage. Aaron Draplin, a legend in the design world, made an appearance that still gets talked about. And this year, with the Thunder in playoff season and all of OKC buzzing, Nick Gallo (broadcast reporter and digital editor for the Oklahoma City Thunder) delivered a keynote on authentic connection that felt especially fitting for this moment in the city.

That’s the mix MARCON pulls off. Local pride and national reach, all in one place.

What this year looked like

The 2026 conference covered a lot of ground. Keynotes tackled brand conviction, inclusive marketing strategy, and what it means to lead with authenticity. Breakouts got into the weeds on AI and search, LinkedIn personal branding, video storytelling, social media strategy, and building high-performance teams without running yourself into the ground.

A few sessions worth highlighting: a grounded, practical conversation about podcasting as a brand channel (what actually works, and what tends to go sideways), a session on AI prompting that gave attendees a real framework for getting better, more trustworthy outputs from AI tools, and Nick Gallo’s Friday keynote, which made a compelling case that the energy an audience sees on the outside starts with the genuine care people bring on the inside.

And beyond the sessions, the vendor hall, the happy hour, the hallway conversations — there’s just something about being in a room full of people who love this work that’s hard to replicate anywhere else.

Evolve’s place in all of this

We’ve been part of MARCON since the beginning, sponsoring every year, showing up to present, and serving on the board in various capacities. Kevin has spoken, the full Evolve team has taken the stage to talk market research, and this year our Jennifer served as head chair for the entire conference.

Running MARCON is no small thing. Jennifer managed every moving piece of a two-day, multi-hundred-person event. When a problem popped up on day one that could have derailed everything, she handled it without missing a beat. Most people in that ballroom had no idea. That’s the mark of someone doing it right.

Why I keep coming back

Honestly, MARCON has given me so much more than a good conference experience. People I’ve met here have become friends. Some have become clients, collaborators, co-board members. Year after year, the same people keep showing up, and that consistency builds something real.

The “scrappy marketer” spirit that MARCON is built around isn’t just a tagline. Most of us know what it’s like to do a lot with a little, to get creative when the budget doesn’t match the ask. This conference takes that seriously. It was built for that reality, by people living it.

If you’re a marketer in Oklahoma and you haven’t made it yet, next year is your year. And if you’re already part of the AMA OKC community, thank you for helping build something this good.

See you in 2027.

Curious how research and data can support your marketing strategy? We’d love to talk. Reach out to the Evolve team anytime.