Full-Year 2016 Bookings up 23% to $30.0M

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IZEA, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), operator of IZEAx, the premier online marketplace connecting brands and publishers with influential content creators, reported record bookings of $8.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, up 11% from $7.3 million in the same year-ago quarter. Full-year 2016 bookings were $30.0 million, up 23% from $24.5 million in 2015.

The record fourth quarter bookings were driven by strong demand for both influencer marketing and custom content services, with large increases in annual commitments by repeat customers.

“At the start of our fourth quarter extraordinary circumstances led to uncommonly large bookings reductions of $1.4 million, due primarily to a client departmental layoff and a client bankruptcy,” said Ted Murphy, IZEA’s chairman and CEO. “Client commitments also slowed leading up to the election. However, this initial hesitation rebounded quickly in November and our team was able to significantly make up for lost time. As we look to 2017, we believe the macroeconomic outlook has stabilized and our sales cadence should follow suit.”

Bookings is a measure of sales orders minus any cancellations or refunds in a given period. Management uses bookings as a leading indicator of future revenue recognition as revenue is typically recognized within 90-120 days of booking. However, larger contracts, such as some of those booked in Q4, may be recognized over twelve months from the original booking date.

The company plans to provide financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2016 on March 28, 2017.

IZEA will be announcing IZEAx 2.0 at IZEAFest on February 10-11^th, 2017. To register for the event go to http://www.izeafest.com.

About IZEA

IZEA operates the premier online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators. IZEA creators range from leading bloggers and social media personalities to A-list celebrities and professional journalists. Creators are compensated for developing and distributing unique content on behalf of brands including long form text, videos, photos and status updates. Brands receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit http://corp.izea.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release that are forward-looking include future market values and launch dates. These forward-looking statements are based largely on IZEA's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond IZEA's control. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, competitive conditions in the content and social sponsorship segments in which IZEA operates, customer order cancellations, failure to popularize one or more of the marketplace platforms of IZEA, inability to obtain additional capital on a timely basis, difficulties in integrating technology and operations of acquired businesses and achieving the expected benefits from the acquisitions, and changing economic conditions that are less favorable than expected. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information contained in this press release will in fact occur. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://corp.izea.com/safe-harbor-statement.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170109005364/en/

Investor Relations for IZEA:
Liolios Investor Relations
Cody Slach or Sean Mansouri, 949-574-3860
izea@liolios.com

Source: IZEA, Inc.