Success story
Meyle+Müller: AI services in day-to-day media production
Since 2020, media and IT service provider Meyle+Müller has been using apollon’s AI services AI-Mask, AI-Image and AI-Layout – for automatic clipping, retouching and individual advertising materials. As apollon’s parent company, Meyle+Müller is both a user and a development partner.
At a glance
Industry
Media and IT services: media production, creative services, photography, CGI
Company
over 250 employees in Germany and abroad; apollon is a subsidiary of Meyle+Müller
Solution
apollon AI services for PIM and DAM: AI-Mask, AI-Image, AI-Layout
In use
since 2020
“We are not only users of the AI services. We also bring our many years of experience and professional expertise to bear in order to constantly improve and expand the AI services with apollon. By bundling our know-how and intelligently combining our services, our customers can benefit optimally from the current status of our group-wide R&D activities at any time. What drives us is a common vision: The real-time generation of visual content!”
Peter Schellhorn, Managing Director / CMO at Meyle+Müller
Initial situation
Putting proven processes to the test
Before OMN
- Clipping and retouching largely done by hand
- Different background requirements per channel and advertising medium
Meyle+Müller is a partner for media production, creative services, photography and CGI, offering solutions, workflows and systems for omnichannel media production. As a holistic solution provider, the company represents the M+M Group, which includes the Hamburg-based companies Hanse Reprozentrum GmbH, ZERONE KG and Hirte GmbH+Co. KG. apollon GmbH+Co. KG is the IT competence center within the group.
For over 100 years, Meyle+Müller has been engaged with change in the media industry. Efficiency and a fast time-to-market for customers are the focus. That is why the company puts proven processes to the test – even if previous, value-adding services are lost as a result. Automation with artificial intelligence plays a crucial role here.
Clipping images is one example: it is time-consuming but necessary. Even in good studio environments, subjects are not shown against a truly white background, and requirements for the background vary by channel and advertising medium. Meyle+Müller has been clipping images for well-known customers for years.
Project objectives
What Meyle+Müller wanted to achieve
01
AI-supported processes
Optimize internal processes through the use of artificial intelligence.
02
Automated image editing
Clip images fully automatically and automate retouching processes.
03
Personalized advertising materials
Create individual advertising materials automatically, without templates.
04
Strengthen research and development
Develop the AI services further together with apollon – the goal is a combined media production service from M+M with apollon’s AI services.
The solution
Three AI services, one workflow
Meyle+Müller does not just use the AI services – as an active partner, it contributes its practical experience to develop them further.
AI-Mask: clipping with quality control
Since AI now delivers very good results when removing backgrounds, Meyle+Müller has fully automated clipping. AI-Mask was extended with clipping paths and a dedicated workflow: every original image automatically yields two variants – clipped and on a white background – while the original is retained. Every result undergoes a system-supported quality check and is only released once it meets Meyle+Müller’s requirements. Images can be readjusted manually if needed; these processes, implemented together with apollon, are also used to further train the AI.
AI-Image: retouching via freely definable workflows
With AI-Image, Meyle+Müller automates manual image editing: skin retouching (blemishes, tattoos, moles), edge smoothing via anti-aliasing, crease retouching for garments and the ghost mannequin effect. For these product images, two shots are enough – the front view and the collar turned inside out – from which AI-Image automatically creates a merged image. This lets customers show the fit of their garments without a model.
AI-Layout: advertising materials without templates
AI-Layout generates layouts for advertising materials automatically and individually. For customers with an online shop, this quickly produces materials that specifically target shopping cart abandoners; thanks to customer-specific weightings, the AI selects the most suitable layout from several million layouts already generated. Materials for selling off stock items, for example, can also be created quickly.
In figures
100+
years of experience in the media industry
250+
employees in Germany and abroad
2
image variants generated automatically from every original (AI-Mask)
Results
What Meyle+Müller achieves
Clipping without manual work
Clipped images and variants on a white background are created automatically – with a system-supported quality check and the option to readjust manually.
Less retouching effort
Skin, edge and crease retouching as well as ghost mannequin images run automatically and significantly reduce editing effort.
More effective materials, faster
With AI-Layout, Meyle+Müller gains speed for its customers; targeted parameters also make the advertising materials more effective.
Joint development
Experience from production flows directly into improving and expanding the AI services.
Outlook
A shared vision
The goal is a combined media production service from M+M with apollon’s AI services – with the real-time generation of visual content as a shared vision.
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