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/).
Kia McCallister-Young, director of America Saves, joined Cheddar News to explain key differences to consider when making a choice between a credit union and a bank. "You want to do your research and know exactly how to gain membership to a credit union," she said, "but, again, banks often are able to be more accessible and be in neighborhoods."
Cheddar News breaks down what to look for on The Day Ahead. The House will hold a hearing on the federal response to the recent banking issues while Starbucks CEO will testify on Capitol Hill about union-busting claims. Disney Parks workers are set to vote on a new contract proposal.
A new indictment charges FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with directing $40 million in bribes to one or more Chinese officials to unfreeze assets relating to his cryptocurrency business.
Producing your own food doesn't mean you have to own your own farm, and it might be as simple as raising some backyard chickens. Agri-tech startup Coop aims to make this easier for non-farmers with a so-called "smart" chicken coop. Cheddar News Senior Reporter Michelle Castillo found a flock to learn more.
Capitol hill is trying to get to the bottom of the bank collapses that shocked the financial system last month, and today lawmakers grilled banking regulators about why they weren't able to stop the crisis. Cheddar News correspondent Lisa Bennatan broke down the proceedings.
Alibaba is splitting itself into into six business groups as the Chinese e-commerce company attempts to become more nimble in reacting to changes in the market and increase the value of those units.
Juul will finally have its day in court for its role in the teen vaping epidemic. The Minnesota attorney general is preparing for opening arguments in the state's lawsuit against the vape maker. Here to break down the complicated backstory for this legal case is Senior Reporter Chloe Aiello.
