IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), operator of IZEAx®, the premier online marketplace connecting brands and publishers with influential content creators, today announced that it continues to expand its direct relationship with a Fortune 10 customer. The customer began working directly with IZEA in 2017 after a successful pilot program with an agency partner. Direct spend grew 380% from 2017 to 2018, and in 2018 the customer’s aggregated commitment reached the high-seven figure mark. In the first few weeks of 2019, IZEA has received additional commitments from this customer, and Q1 2019 spend is already above the total spend in Q1 2018.

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IZEA Continues Expansion with Fortune 10 Customer (Photo: Business Wire)

IZEA Continues Expansion with Fortune 10 Customer (Photo: Business Wire)

“Our investment in developing best-in-class technology, and commitment to customer service excellence, is being rewarded with repeat business by the companies that set the highest bars in both of these areas,” said Ted Murphy, Founder and CEO of IZEA Worldwide. “We are thrilled to be working with some of the world’s leading companies who value our thought leadership, embrace our mission to champion the creators, and trust their multi-billion dollar brands to IZEA and our network.”

“Becoming an approved partner for a company of this size requires an extensive review and vetting process,” continued Murphy. “But even more challenging is growing the relationship in a hyper-competitive and fast changing environment. I am pleased with our progress with this customer and excited by the growth we are seeing with other Fortune-ranked companies as well.”

IZEA recently reported record bookings of $11.2 million for Q4 2018, up 115% YoY. The company expects to report financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018 on March 28, 2019.

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 Statement

All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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 "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding future financial results, expectations regarding whether and when the transactions would lose, expectations concerning IZEA’s ability to increase its revenue and improve Adjusted EBITDA, expectations with respect to operational efficiency, expectations regarding financing, 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: competitive conditions in the content and social sponsorship segment in which IZEA operates; failure to popularize one or more of the marketplace platforms of IZEA; inability to finance growth initiatives in a timely manner; our ability to establish effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; 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.