IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), the premier provider of
influencer marketing technology, data, and services for the world’s
leading brands, announced additional details on Shake, a new online
marketplace that allows creators to offer their services, delivered
digitally, for a self-determined price. The details were provided
during an investor conference call on Thursday evening.
Influencers, photographers, writers, musicians, and more can use
IZEA’s Shake to collaborate and transact with marketers and
individual buyers. Creators list available “Shakes” on their
accounts in the platform and marketers select and purchase creative
packages from them through a streamlined chat experience, assisted
by ShakeBot™ - a proprietary, artificial intelligence assistant.
During the call, IZEA Founder and CEO Ted Murphy
provided an overview of the platform and the opportunity it
represents for both IZEA and the creators in IZEA’s network.
Key Information About Shake:
Shake is a Public MarketplaceIn
comparison to IZEA’s current platform which offers large enterprise
customers access to IZEA’s private network of influencers and
content creators, Shake will be public. There is no subscription
needed to see the creators who are interested in working with
buyers. An account is only required to make a purchase or sell.
Individual and Commercial Content
LicensesThese bespoke services can be offered as either
personal or full commercial licenses, allowing creators to sell
personalized video messages or even video conferences directly to
their fan base.
Creators First™ PricingIZEA’s
standard transaction fee will be 15% of the sale price, while
competitor Fiverr has a combined take rate of 27.1% between buyer
and seller fees. A minimal floor of $50 per listing vs. $5 on
competing platforms is designed to ensure fair compensation for
creators.
Universal Accounts and
FinancesIZEAx and Shake share a common user authentication
service and financial backend, among other IZEAx technologies.
Enterprise IZEAx customers will be able to make purchases through
Shake with their existing accounts and funds. Creators will also be
able to use their funds earned in either IZEAx or Shake to hire
other creators in the platform.
Curated Listings and
CategoriesShake will be focused on digital services that
are commonly offered by advertising agencies, media companies, and
talent agencies. Listings and access will be curated to provide
access to the best creators and services. Shake will not offer
alternative services such as “Fortune Telling” or “Obsession Love
Spells” found on other marketplaces.
Vast Influencer Network and Data
CapabilitiesIZEA has over 850,000 Registered Users in its
current platform. IZEA will make social profile and content data
available in Shake for those creators with seller accounts to help
buyers make informed decisions when selecting influencers.
“With Shake, IZEA will greatly expand our potential
customer base to encompass everything from individuals to large
enterprise customers,” said Ted Murphy, Founder and CEO of IZEA.
“This is the first time that we have provided public access to our
influencer network by allowing creators to list and sell specific
creative services. It is the continuation of our strategy to make
our enterprise technology available to a more diverse customer set
and establish additional revenue streams that are
software-based.”
The Shake platform is aimed at digital creatives,
which includes both online influencers and well as those in
creative fields. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there
are 1.6 million gig economy workers in the US. Business Insider
Intelligence data from December 2019 predicts that the
influencer marketing industry as a whole is projected to reach $15
billion by 2022.
Timing for Buyers and SellersThe
Shake platform is currently in Early Registration. Access Codes
that will allow select creators to begin adding their listings to
the platform will begin to be distributed in the coming week. The
marketplace will be populated for a handful of months before
opening up for buyers. The general public can expect to be able to
buy or sell your first Shake in Q3.
To pre-register to be a buyer or seller visit
http://shake.izea.com
--
A replay of the call will be available after 8:00
P.M. Eastern time on the same day through June 25, 2020.
Toll-free replay number:
1-844-512-2921 International replay number:
1-412-317-6671 Replay ID: 13705304
Other Topics Covered During the
Call
At-the-Market Offering ProgramOn
the conference call, Management shared that IZEA has
sold $14.775 million of common stock at an average price
of $2.29 a share. The company paid a 2% commission on the gross
proceeds. The company will likely continue to slowly and
responsibly raise capital through our previously announced ATM.
Managed Services UpdateThe company
also provided an update for managed services bookings, the core
revenue driver of the business. IZEA expects that bookings for Q2
2020 be up in excess of 25% as compared to Q2 2019 bookings,
despite the impacts of COVID-19.
--
About IZEA Worldwide, Inc.IZEA
Worldwide, Inc. (“IZEA”) operates IZEAx, the premier online
marketplace that connects marketers with content creators. IZEAx
automates influencer marketing and custom content development,
allowing brands and agencies to scale their marketing programs.
IZEA creators include celebrities and accredited journalists.
Creators are compensated for producing unique content such as long
and short form text, videos, photos, status updates, and
illustrations for marketers or distributing such content on behalf
of marketers through their personal websites, blogs, and social
media channels. Marketers receive influential content and engaging,
shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about
IZEA, visit https://izea.com/.
Safe Harbor StatementAll
statements in this release that are not based on historical fact
are “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe
harbor from liability established by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which
are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans,
strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use
of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,”
“should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,”
“intends,” “likely,” “projects,” “plans,” “pursue," “strategy” or
“future,” or the negative of these words or other words or
expressions of similar meaning. Examples of forward-looking
statements include, among others, statements we make regarding
expectations concerning IZEA’s ability to increase revenue and
improve Adjusted EBITDA, expectations with respect to operational
efficiency, and expectations concerning IZEA’s business strategy.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors
including, among others, the following: our ability to raise
additional funding needed to fund our business operation in the
future, uncertainty relating to the effects of COVID-19,
competitive conditions in the content and social sponsorship
segment in which IZEA operates; failure to popularize the IZEAx
marketplace platform; inability to finance growth initiatives in a
timely manner; our ability to satisfy the requirements for
continued listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market;
changing economic conditions that are less favorable than expected;
and other risks and uncertainties described in IZEA’s periodic
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
forward-looking statements made in this release speak only as of
the date of this release, and IZEA assumes no obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or
changes in expectations, except as otherwise required by law.
Martin Smith
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.
Phone: 407-674-6911
Email: ir@izea.com
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