Forty Under 40: Eric Howerton
by January 1, 2016 12:00 am 864 views
Eric Howerton has no interest in the norm.
He and Alex Ahmad created WhyteSpyder to help Walmart suppliers flourish by enhancing, expanding and optimizing the data used to promote their products.
A separate division offers content and digital marketing to other industries. WhyteSpyder has grown at least 50 percent each year since its founding in 2012.
Howerton, a Jonesboro native, studied photojournalism at Arkansas State University, and his first job was as a photographer for the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville.
He started a magazine, Get Out, in 2001 and marketing became his passion. He founded Now Creative Inc., a studio offering marketing, branding, photography and some digital content. He was chief operating officer for the Zweig Group, overseeing publications and marketing. He and Ahmad then opened WhyteSpyder.
It may seem a crooked path, but Howerton considers that he’s been a storyteller all along; all those jobs involved the consumption of information.
“Think about the art form of the headline in journalism; it follows a path to tell a story. Marketing uses the same principle,” he explained. “Journalism taught me to understand my audience through interviewing, asking the right questions, funneling facts and re-communicating.”
Howerton sees his glass as neither half full nor half empty, rather overflowing.
He is an avid outdoor enthusiast. He supports the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County by sharing digital marketing expertise, is a board member for Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life and participates in the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce’s WalStreet Speaker Series and Young Entrepreneur Academy.