Digital media group, INFLUASIA has acquired a digital publishing platform, In Real Life Malaysia (IRL). The budding platform takes pride in being Malaysia’s first personal experience platform, focusing on sharing personalised stories from everyday Malaysians.

“Unlike other platforms out there, In Real Life dives deep into the lives of Malaysians. The platform allows anyone to share their personal stories and inspire others through their life experiences across different topics,” said Chris Khristie, co-founder of INFLUASIA.

This new addition will be joining INFLUASIA group’s existing publications that have secured over 40 million pageviews and over 10 million unique individuals monthly. Collectively, the brand reaches across 2.1 million followers nationwide through its multitude of publications including WORLD OF BUZZ, Lobak Merah and NOODOU. The company will also be focusing on BUZZER, its own influencer marketing agency that provides 360⁰ talent and influencer marketing solutions with an integrated data-driven targeting function, AI-powered fraud detection technology and extensive database of over 49,000 local influencers.

From left: Gabriel Gan Content Writer & Editor of In Real Life Malaysia, Chris Khristie, Co-founder of INFLUASIA, Michelle Tan, Co-founder of INFLUASIA, and Vhysh Raj, Head Of Content of WORLD OF BUZZ.

Chris added that the acquisition of In Real Life was made due to their shared objective of conveying community-centric messages. “We believe that this merger is fitting to our mutual vision of encouraging more people to share their personal stories.”

The founder of In Real Life, Rachel Tan (pictured above) shared that this acquisition will enable the platform to access wider resources in order to achieve their goal that prioritises the stories of the community. “I built In Real Life because everyone has a story to tell and I believe that we can all learn something from one another. Through IRL, you can share them with us, write your own story and get inspired by each other.

“In less than two years, we have reached more than 2 million Malaysians. With the growth of the team and additional resources, this will allow more people to share their stories and be heard,” she added.

Rachel also added that this acquisition signifies a new avenue for the group and its audiences. The IRL team will be managed by the INFLUASIA founders, with Rachel appointed as the consultative partner during the handover process.

INFLUASIA has plans to strengthen its portfolio through further acquisitions of relevant publications and building up niche platforms to cater to different sets of audiences, as they eye to become the largest digital media group in Malaysia. The company will also be launching its interactive content-based app by the end of this year to further complement this mission.

Relevant links: Influasia.com and InRealLife.my