Influencer Marketer IZEA Eyes Hispanic Market with New Acquisition
*By Michelle Castillo*
Influencer marketing company IZEA Worldwide is expanding into Latin America with the acquisition of FLUVIP.
IZEA ($IZEA) announced on Wednesday it was entering into a non-binding letter of intent to buy all outstanding shares of FLUVIP Ventures, a Latin American-focused influencer marketing company. FLUVIP has more than 100,000 influencers it works with that focus on Latin American and U.S. Hispanic consumers. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but will consist mostly of stock payments.
“While the LATAM advertising market is smaller that the U.S. market, digital spend is growing at two times the pace,” IZEA CEO Ted Murphy told Cheddar. “Influencer marketing is not as mature in the region and is significantly less fragmented than it is in the U.S. We see a big opportunity for software as most influencer marketing is done by agencies.”
Companies are projected to spend between $5 billion and $10 billion in influencer marketing by 2022, [according to Business Insider Intelligence](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-influencer-marketing-report-2018-1f).
There are about 55 million U.S. Hispanics according to PWC, and they're a potential mobile-first customer . he group [is expected](https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/hispanics.html) to make up one-third of the U.S. population by 2060.
U.S. Hispanics spend almost 10.5 hours per week online using their smartphones, [per eMarketer](https://www.emarketer.com/Report/US-Hispanics-2016-Who-They-Are-What-Theyre-Doing-on-Digital-Ad-Spending-Reach-Them/2001794
). For comparison, the general U.S. population spends 8.4 hours online per week. About half of Hispanic millennials talk about brands with friends online or use a brand hashtag on social media compared to 17 percent of non-Hispanics, according to a survey [completed by Viant](https://www.viantinc.com/news/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-hispanic-millennials/).
Paramount Global is set to absorb Showtime into Paramount+, creating a single streaming option to compete with the likes of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max. The company also plans to raise the monthly price from $9.99 to $11.99 per month after the integration.
Debt ceiling talks are underway in Washington, DC ahead of a default deadline. Michael Rosen, chief investment officer with Angeles Investments, joined Cheddar News to explain how a potential default could affect investment portfolios, among other items, for Americans.
Australia's government announced regulations for buy now, pay later services, which will be labeled as consumer credit products, which puts them under the country's Securities and Investments Commission's watch.
Walmart is reportedly teaming up with pet telehealth provider Pawp, giving subscribers unlimited access to vet services via video and text, starting on Tuesday.
Cheddar News checks in to see what's on The Day Ahead, which will include earnings from Lowe's, Dick's Sporting Goods, BJ's and AutoZone along with new home sales data. In addition, Microsoft's Build 2023 Developer Conference is slated to kick off for software engineers and web developers.
Venmo will soon have accounts for teenagers ages 13-17 but they will have to follow a set of rules, with parents or guardians opening accounts on their behalf under their own accounts.
Rory Harvey, General Motors' incoming North American president, joined Cheddar News to discuss GM's foray into the rapidly-changing electric vehicle market along with what lies ahead. "It's a very dynamic time in the automotive industry," he said. "If you look to the transformation across the EVs, it's happening and it's happening at a pace."
