GlobeNewswire Inc | Jul 7, 2021 10:00AM EDT

July 07, 2021

Orlando, Florida, July 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), the premier provider of influencer marketing technology, data, and services for the worlds leading brands, announced today that it has set a Managed Services bookings record for the best quarter in company history. Managed Services bookings in Q2 of 2021 increased 187% to $11.1 million as compared to Q2 of 2020, which were $3.9 million. IZEA added a variety of new influencer marketing customers within the quarter, including multiple Fortune 500 brands. IZEA also saw strong repeat business from existing customers, including three Fortune 10 companies. The announcement comes just one quarter after IZEA set a record for its best Q1 Managed Services bookings ever, which were $6.4 million.

Team IZEA has been laser focused on customer growth and we are seeing the direct results of investments made throughout the organization, said Ted Murphy, IZEAs Chairman and CEO. Our commitment to providing the best technology and customer experience is being rewarded with repeat business from existing customers as well as material wins from major brands we have long sought after.

Our total active software customer base reached record numbers in Q2 and have more than doubled since June of last year, continued Murphy. We added multiple leading brands as software customers including the worlds largest CPG company, and many challenger brands and agencies as well. Software customer counts were largely driven by IZEAx Discovery, our powerful and affordable influencer discovery tool. We are still in the middle of our SaaS pricing transition with openly published lower fees for all our customers to offer industry-leading cost-to-value. Our aggressive pricing changes for Unity Suite went into effect at the end of Q3 of 2020 and we are nearly through all of those adjustments for existing customers.

Bookings are a measure of all sales orders minus any known cancellations or refunds in the same time period with respect to such sales orders or refunds. Management uses bookings to inform expectations of total sales activity. Bookings are not always an indicator of revenue for the quarter and could be subject to future adjustment. Revenue from Managed Services bookings are typically recognized over a 9-month period on average, though larger contracts may be recognized over longer periods of time. IZEA recognizes Managed Services revenue based on a percentage of completion.

IZEAs net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of the companys financial performance when it announces Q2 earnings, which is tentatively scheduled for August 12, 2021. IZEAs Managed Services bookings represent only one measure of the companys financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors - including the amount of revenue recognized within the quarter, the cost of sales, and other operating expenses.

About IZEA Worldwide, Inc.IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (IZEA) is a marketing technology company providing software and professional services that enable brands to collaborate and transact with the full spectrum of todays top social influencers and content creators. The company serves as a champion for the growing Creator Economy, enabling individuals to monetize their content, creativity, and influence. IZEA launched the industrys first-ever influencer marketing platform in 2006 and has since facilitated nearly 4 million transactions between online buyers and sellers. Leading brands and agencies partner with IZEA to increase digital engagement, diversify brand voice, scale content production, and drive measurable return on investment.

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, expect, anticipate, hope, estimate, believe, intend, "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 IZEAs ability to increase revenue and bookings, growth or maintenance of customer relationships, and expectations concerning IZEAs 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; 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 IZEAs 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.

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-- IZEA Managed Services Bookings Hit All-Time Record in Q2

Martin SmithIZEA Worldwide, Inc.Phone: 407-674-6911Email: ir@izea.com