Editor's Note: The original version of this article reported Reflect has 1.5 million screens running on its system in the U.S. The company has 500,000 screens running on its system.
Matt Schmitt has seen a lot change in the digital signage and advertising industry since first launching his company Reflect Systems in Richardson. Since 2001, when Reflect Systems first launched, Schmitt and his team have navigated changes and grown to a point where it’s consistently landing big-name clients.
As the digital and online landscape has changed over the past nearly two decades, along with consumer habits, Reflect has had to grow and adapt to stay on top of the market.
“The challenge we saw businesses having was delivering heavy, media rich content over networks,” said Schmitt, co-founder and president at Reflect. “There was a need for developing a solution for good content delivery over the internet, and getting the content from Point A to Point B.”
Reflect is a digital media solutions and experience provider. The company focuses on helping businesses determine the best advertising solutions, content and application of digital signage and solutions.
Schmitt said that he has noticed consumer trends changing in recent years. He said that in addition to focusing more on social media and online advertising, consumers are also spending less time in the home absorbing content and media.
Traditional media has been losing audience in many cases. According to Forbes, cable viewership has declined 30% last year as new media gains traction. Streaming, for example, has increased by 27% since 2017, according to The Verge. However, Schmitt added that the out-of-home advertising market, such as digital signage in shopping centers and urban areas, is one of the fastest growing markets at the moment and one that many advertisers are trying to break into.
“That is one of the reasons we started doing what we’re doing… to actually reach people where they are,” Schmitt said. “There’s an expectation that digital is going to be present in the physical word when you go out there. That’s why [companies are] innovating and trying to re-imagine their spaces.”
Currently, Reflect’s main focus is the out-of-home market. In 2016, the company launched ReflectMedia to expand into the place-based ecosystem, entering the market with a dual-sided digital billboard in The Colony. According to the company, Reflect has more than 500,000 screens running on its system across the country. It has worked with companies like Levi’s, Macy’s and Indian Motorcycle.
Schmitt said what sets Reflect apart is its ability to provide its customers with a one-stop shop for digital signage solutions. With about 51 employees, an in-house creative team, Reflect has been growing since its founding. According to Crunchbase.com, the company has raised more than $12 million in total funding, with its most recent 2007 Series D bringing in more than $1.4 million.
“We try to figure out the ‘why’ first… when we start with that, we can figure out the rest,” Schmitt said. “Our stuff has moved a lot from… where we started. It’s gotten a lot more interactive now.”
