In E43, Localogy senior analyst Charles Laughlin talks about the unique power of local influencers with Emily Steele, the CEO & Co-founder of Hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds is the antithesis of Khardashian level influencer marketing, where celebrities will millions of Instagram followers hawk luxury goods. Rather, it’s about that friend in your community with perhaps hundreds of followers who convinced you to try out that new cocktail bar or yoga studio.

Ultimately Hummingbirds sees itself as an innovative way for brands to break through to Millennial consumers who are “spending money on Spotify to avoid ads.”

Des Moines, Iowa-based Hummingbirds began in 2019 to “help place-based brand find and work with hyper-local content creators to drive awareness and sales.” Steele says that brick and mortar retail and personal services businesses seem to resonate most with local influencer marketing.

The company raised a $1 million seed round late in 2022.

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Anthony Rausch, “Japan’s Local Newspapers: Chihoshi and Revitalization Journalism” (Routledge, 2012)