A new choice for fan activities. What is MeSEUM, where you create your own story?

MeSEUM, jointly launched by Fujifilm Business Innovation (hereafter Fujifilm BI) and Dentsu Inc., is a new content experience platform where fans can freely select images of their favorite idols to create their own photo books and merchandise. ( Press release here )

Leveraging the Fujifilm Group's strengths—such as high-quality printing technology, AI image recognition, and on-demand production—this project holds the potential to create a new relationship for both fans and content holders, going beyond mere "merchandise sales."

Aaron Zu, the Business Development Producer overseeing MeSEUM, explains the project's background and future outlook.

An innovative platform that gives shape to fans' passion

That lingering feeling after a live show or event. Haven't you ever wanted to keep the photos and expressions of your favorite artist or character saved on your phone as your own personal memento?

MeSEUM is a service that allows fans to select images of their favorite artists or characters, edit them to their liking, and create original goods like photo books and art panels. The process is simple, completed in just a few steps online. By utilizing Fujifilm BI's production printer, the "Revoria Press PC1120," the finished products guarantee commercial-grade print quality.

This service's key feature is that it provides a special personalized experience for fans, while also helping content holders reduce inventory risk and initial investment. It could be seen as a new form of fan engagement, directly converting the passion of supporting your favorite artist or character into tangible products.

I believe " updating the relationship with your favorite " lies at the core of the MeSEUM business. Fans want to preserve the exhilarating moments and irreplaceable experiences from live shows and events in a tangible form. Or, for those who couldn't attend, they want to connect with that world in their own way. I envisioned a service with a human touch that embraces these fan sentiments. MeSEUM is one proposal to meet these needs.

Delivering Hidden Value: Addressing Challenges for Both Fans and Content Holders

To delve deeper into the vision behind the MeSEUM initiative and its potential to evolve fan activities, we spoke with Yuji Kida, Director and Executive Officer at Fujifilm BI overseeing the Graphic Communication Business.

Aaron: First, I'd like to ask about the background behind launching the MeSEUM business. What challenges did your company perceive, and how did you understand the challenges faced by content holders and fans?

Kida: We launched the MeSEUM business based on the idea that creating entirely new content businesses starting from Fujifilm's core technologies of "photography" and "printing" would also drive growth in our Graphic Communication Business.

Currently, many content holders possess vast image and video assets but struggle to monetize them effectively. Meanwhile, looking at fans who enjoy supporting their favorite creators, we realized they seek not just widely distributed content, but "something meaningful to them" – personalized value.

Our major theme was to properly connect these two needs and create a system that satisfies both content holders and fans. Furthermore, this new approach to fandom activities is not limited to entertainment; it is common across a wide range of fields, including art, literature, and sports. In this sense, we view it as a project with significant social importance.

Aaron: Given these challenges and needs, could you explain the specific mechanisms MeSEUM employs to deliver value?

Kida: First, we implement DAM (Digital Asset Management) to organize and manage the vast image and video data held by content holders as digital assets. Then, fans can select the exact cuts they truly desire from this collection to create one-of-a-kind original items. We provide this kind of "fan activity platform."

In other words, fans can give tangible form to the moments that moved them, turning that into an expression of their support. For content holders, meanwhile, it means transforming previously untapped content into assets, unlocking value through both management and monetization.

The foundation of this platform leverages our long-cultivated digital technology and expertise in high-quality photography and printing. We have advanced this business with the goal of creating a positive experience for everyone involved.

Technology and Know-How Supporting "One-of-a-Kind Items"

Aaron: I feel the know-how and technology your company has cultivated through its business is a major key to realizing MeSEUM's system. Specifically, where do you see your strengths?

Kida: Our expertise is primarily applied in four key areas.

First is our high-quality print-on-demand technology. Its defining feature is achieving commercial-grade print quality without plates, printing only the exact quantity needed. This technology forms the crucial foundation for enabling MeSEUM's "one-of-a-kind items." Furthermore, by employing security printing technologies like clear toner and microfont, we also deter content counterfeiting and resale.

Second is AI-powered image recognition technology. It can automatically extract only specific characters or artists from large photo databases, or filter out blurry images to select only high-quality ones. When fans browse, the system is designed so that AI suggests the best possible image.

Third is our expertise in material expansion. Beyond paper, we have proven printing capabilities on diverse materials like fabric, ceramics, and acrylic. This technology enables the diverse item lineup fans demand.

And fourth is our expertise in DX support that streamlines everything from content creation to distribution. We consider our ability to reduce the workload for content owners and support more convenient and flexible operations by integrating with AI and business systems to be a major strength.

Aaron: Could you elaborate a bit more on the features of the "Revoria Press PC1120" utilized at MeSEUM?

Kida: The Revoria Press PC1120 is a high-quality digital printer that pioneered the world's first six-color toner system. It handles color tones in the RGB spectrum that are difficult to reproduce with standard CMYK (four-color) printing. It boasts exceptional reproducibility, particularly for content requiring delicate color expression, such as character photos and art photography.

Furthermore, it can handle a wider variety of substrates than inkjet printing, allowing us to flexibly respond to the diverse item requests fans desire. Combined with the security printing functionality mentioned earlier, it has become a key technology supporting the quality of the fan experience.

Aaron: The Fujifilm Group already offers services related to fan activities, such as "Random Print," "Print Days," and "Favorite Character Print," right? Are the experiences and know-how gained from these being leveraged in this new venture?

Kida: Yes, that's precisely one of our strengths. While the MeSEUM business is being advanced solely by Fujifilm BI, we plan to collaborate with other group divisions already offering fan-related services to further enhance quality and precision. Furthermore, since fans exist not only in Japan but also globally, we aim to pursue collaborations with a view toward international expansion.

Incidentally, while I'm not particularly knowledgeable about fan activities myself, the leader of the DX Division involved in the MeSEUM project is a serious enthusiast (laughs). He was the one who reacted most strongly when we discussed this initiative. Having members at the core who truly understand the passion and genuine desires of fans is a significant asset in building this service.

Increasing the number of smiles on Earth

Aaron: The Fujifilm Group has the purpose of "Increasing the number of smiles on Earth." How do you think the MeSEUM business can contribute to achieving that?

Kida: Fujifilm's group purpose is to combine diverse people, wisdom, and technologies, generate innovation through original ideas, and deliver smiles to the world. We at Fujifilm BI also share this aspiration and approach all our activities with the spirit of "Open, Fair, Clear."

Naturally, MeSEUM is an extension of this business. As its concept—"Make what you love, even more beloved"—indicates, it aims to respond more deeply, freely, and richly to the "love" fans feel. Creating smiles for each individual is at the core of this business.

Aaron: I deeply resonate with that. By the way, your company also focuses on reducing environmental impact to realize a sustainable society. Could you tell me about the role MeSEUM plays in that?

Kida: Environmental consideration is one of the themes we place great importance on. For example, the digital printing technology used by MeSEUM, unlike conventional offset printing, does not require intermediate materials such as printing plates. It is an on-demand system that produces only the necessary amount without generating waste liquid, so there is no inventory loss.

Furthermore, we utilize green electricity and have a system in place that allows us to select environmentally friendly paper. This enables us to provide our products with the "GreenPower Mark," making it easier for both content holders and users to visualize our environmental contributions.

A new relationship between fans and content created by "select content"

Aaron: We are also looking ahead to the advancement of AI image recognition and the utilization of fan data. Please tell us about the current plans for how MeSEUM will evolve in the future.

Kida: Currently, we primarily use AI for recognizing portraits, but we plan to expand into automatically extracting scenes and illustrations. Furthermore, by accumulating and analyzing fan behavior data and feedback, we can offer more personalized recommendations.

For example, we aim to create a service that caters to each individual's preferences—where AI identifies scenes meaningful to a fan and suggests similar images or designs. We envision MeSEUM evolving not just as a platform that responds to fan emotions, but one that constantly delivers new experiences.

Aaron: What kind of future do you envision building together with content holders who will join MeSEUM?

Kida: In a word, we want to jointly realize a world where monetizing content is the norm. Among the materials content holders possess, there must be countless irreplaceable images for fans. By properly managing and utilizing these, delivering them in valuable forms, we believe we can provide a space to deepen relationships with fans.

As an extension of this, we also want to explore new schemes where a portion of the revenue is returned to fans. Ultimately, we aim to establish a culture where "select content"—where fans themselves choose "this shot I want" to create—becomes the norm, moving beyond the traditional style of selling photo books uniformly.

Aaron: That's precisely the kind of proposal that aligns with the fan psychology of today. We're also entering an era where talent and artists resonate more deeply when they share relatable, human-like behind-the-scenes stories. At MeSEUM, we have a strong desire to convey the stories and new facets behind the person, which is why we're also working on sharing behind-the-scenes footage and off-shots on our official YouTube channel.

Kida: I feel that perspective is crucial. Beyond the finished cuts, conveying those little off-duty expressions and behind-the-scenes stories has the potential to add new appeal to the content. By extracting and delivering that kind of "hidden value" fans seek, I believe we can also contribute to the content's branding. Of course, it's not easy, but isn't it the accumulation of these new challenges that ultimately creates value?

Aaron: Finally, could you share a message for fans who enjoy supporting their idols?

Kida: I hope fans will continue to freely enjoy MeSEUM as one way to support their favorites, just as they have before. What's different now is the ability to "choose for yourself and create your own unique fan activity items." Preserving moments that moved you at concerts or events in your own personal way. Or expressing your own image of your favorite through photos or goods. I believe these experiences can deepen that feeling of "liking" something.

Having a favorite idol is a source of daily energy. We will support fans in maximizing their enjoyment of this precious activity through both technology and service. And through MeSEUM, we want to bring color and smiles to your lives.

Aaron: Thank you. We also want to take on various challenges to maximize MeSEUM's value.

Kida: Our company doesn't have extensive experience in consumer business. That's precisely why we look forward to collaborating with Dentsu Inc., which has deep expertise in this field. Their market analysis capabilities, business development know-how, and connections with diverse content holders are incredibly valuable assets for MeSEUM. By combining both companies' strengths, we aim to grow this into a service that moves the hearts of even more people.

Aaron: What we aim to achieve through this venture is to give the emotion of "liking" more freedom and choice. For fans, it's the experience of personally selecting and shaping cherished moments. For content holders, it's the potential to deliver past assets in new forms. And for us, it's the challenge of supporting emotionally resonant moments through the synergy of technology and creativity.

We believe the experiences MeSEUM creates will forge new relationships between people and content. Each of these experiences will gradually add more "color" and "smiles" to society. Believing in this future, we intend to keep moving forward, one step at a time.

Visit the "MeSEUM" service site here

[Business Inquiries]
Dentsu Inc. Business Transformation Creative Center
Aaron Z. Zhu
Contact: https://dentsu-bxcr.com/contact