How IDN is giving brands access across digital and physical worlds

For many digital-first media companies, growth has traditionally meant expanding into new content formats or creator businesses. For Indonesia's IDN, however, the next phase of expansion is taking place as much in physical spaces as it is online.

The company's recent acquisition of M Bloc Group, bringing five well-known creative destinations under the newly formed IDN Bloc platform, signals a broader ambition: creating an ecosystem where media, entertainment, creators, communities and brands intersect across both digital and real-world experiences.

Rather than viewing the acquisition simply as a property play, IDN sees placemaking as an extension of the audience relationships it has built over the past 12 years.

"The five properties of IDN Bloc are a very strategic value-add for us, we see physical spaces as an extension of our digital ecosystem," William Utomo (pictured), co-founder and chief operating officer of IDN, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

"The soul and vision of [M Bloc], when it was first created back in 2019, was to pioneer placemaking by revitalising heritage buildings and injecting a new vibrant soul into them - creating places where shops and tenants can flourish, communities can gather, brands can have a meaningful presence, and consumers can come together."

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He added that the company's conviction is rooted in firsthand experience.

"I personally love to hang out with friends at M Bloc, Pos Bloc, and Lokananta, so I have experienced firsthand the value they create for people and the community. Plus, historically, IDN has also used these venues extensively for brand activation and community events. Over the years, we've seen the impact they bring - not just in terms of reach, but in creating authentic engagement and lasting connections between brands and communities."

A consistent vision, broader execution

While IDN has expanded well beyond its publishing roots into entertainment, creator platforms, events and intellectual property, Utomo said the company's overarching mission has remained unchanged.

The company vision has stayed the same since 12 years ago. We want to democratise access.

"The only difference is that because our offerings keep expanding, the access that we need to provide also expands. But the vision stays the same. It's about democratisation."

That philosophy also shapes how the company evaluates success. Rather than measuring individual verticals in isolation, IDN looks at how widely people engage with its ecosystem.

"Depending on our products and services, the more people use them and get benefits from our products and services - whether it's through watching our videos, watching our movies, listening to our music, visiting our properties, getting entertainment from our idol group, or reading our articles - that is how we measure impact."

The approach reflects how media businesses are increasingly evolving into multi-platform consumer ecosystems instead of relying solely on advertising-supported publishing.

Despite this diversification, Utomo rejects the notion that IDN has moved away from media altogether.

"At our heart and our core, we are a consumer technology company in the media, lifestyle, and entertainment sector. So yes, media is a very important part of the company," he said.

Giving brands access to audiences across multiple touchpoints

As brands increasingly seek integrated campaigns rather than standalone media buys, IDN believes its expanding ecosystem offers marketers access to consumers across both digital and physical environments.

According to Utomo, the company reaches more than 70 million people through its digital platforms every month, alongside around three million annual visitors through concerts, placemaking destinations, expos and community experiences.

"They are very core, actually," he said of brand partnerships.

"Our job for these audiences is to expose them to great brands that can increase and improve their quality of life. For brands, we provide access for them to reach the right audiences."

We think of ourselves as a bridge, a connector, and a facilitator.

That positioning also reflects changing expectations among marketers, who are looking beyond visibility alone.

"Brand expectations change every single year. They follow the trend, but ultimately they follow where consumers are. Digital is still very important, but it's no longer about passive interaction. It's about engagement-based digital interaction," Utomo said.

"Physical interaction has also changed. It's no longer just about being exposed to a brand, but about actual engagement, product trial, product usage, and ultimately conversion and purchase."

Rather than replicating campaigns across every property, IDN says integration depends on tailoring brand activity to each platform's audience and culture.

"We know that our DNA already spans very different products. Our media such as IDN Times, Popbela, Popmama, Yummy, and GGWP are very different from JKT48, Pestapora, M Bloc, Pos Bloc, and IDN Nonton microdrama. The content is different. The audience is different."

"So for us, it's about providing native-format content, advising brands, and delivering campaigns in those native formats so audiences can understand brands authentically."

Betting on microdrama and participatory youth culture

Alongside physical experiences, IDN is also making a significant investment in new entertainment formats, particularly microdrama.

"Short-form content is the present. Microdrama is the future," Utomo said.

"We are betting big on IDN Nonton. We have hundreds of titles and tens of thousands of episodes of microdramas. That's how much we believe in the format."

He added that broad distribution remains central to the strategy.

"We are distributed through many distribution channels. You can find our subscription through major telco companies, in the MyTelkomsel app, the MySmartfren app, Gojek Plus subscriptions, retail partners such as Chatime, and online voucher platforms such as Codashop or Voca and many more."

"So we are everywhere, making it easy for consumers to find us."

Looking ahead, Utomo believes Indonesia's youth audiences will increasingly expect brands and platforms to become participants in their communities rather than simply publishers or advertisers.

"The youth in Indonesia today are very engaged, very critical, well-read, and well-versed," he said. "For us, the keyword is participatory. We have to participate in their lives and in their viewpoints."

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