Great news for the GameStop TV network.  4,100 stores have been installed and are actively running the in-store digital media network.  The Reflect team worked closely with CBS and GameStop on what has been a smooth deployment for one of the largest in-store media networks in the world.

From the CBS press release:

Intercept studies conducted on behalf CBS and GameStop show that 91 percent of shoppers find GameStop TV “entertaining” and 88 percent also find it “informative.” Furthermore, 85 percent of GameStop shoppers say they are more likely to purchase consumer products or services promoted on GameStop TV.  In addition, intercept studies confirm that advertisers experience significant increases in awareness and brand recall during advertising campaigns on GameStop TV.

Read the full press release here.

New hires expand business development for growth in enterprise software and service solutions.

Dallas, Texas – March 10, 2010 – Reflect Systems, a premier provider of digital signage and networked media solutions, today announced the addition of team members in the roles of business development, sales, and solutions management.

Bill Warren joins Reflect as President and will focus on business development and driving further growth and adoption of Reflect solutions in the market. Mr. Warren brings over thirty years of experience in executive leadership in solutions delivery in the technology and service sectors. Mr. Warren held senior-level leadership positions at Accenture, where he was an early contributor in developing the services business into the global organization it is today. He has also been instrumental in developing several media and communications and consumer fulfillment companies. Mr. Warren sits on the board of several business, academic and community organizations.

Arturo Florcruz has joined the team as Director of Sales. Mr. Florcruz has over twenty years of experience in technology sales and sales management. Mr. Florcruz has held senior level positions at Fortune 100 companies such as Ameritech and SunGuard, in addition to being instrumental in the foundation of technology companies including Ovation Communications and Raindance Communications.

Christian Jennings joins Reflect as Senior Sales Engineer and Solutions Specialist. His responsibilities will include pre-sales support for software and services, in addition to working with Reflect’s internal teams and industry partners to develop and implement a solutions-based approach to managing customer relationships. Mr. Jennings has over fifteen years of experience developing and implementing enterprise solutions with organizations, including BEA Systems and Fuego, a business procedure management provider.

“We’re excited to welcome our new team members. We believe our customers and partners will benefit greatly from these additions, and that Reflect will continue to build a reputation as a leader in our market,” said Matt Schmitt, Founder & CEO of Reflect Systems. “Bill’s successes in growing businesses and serving enterprise customers are great assets for Reflect. We look forward to leveraging his experience and his passion to position Reflect as a forerunner in the digital signage industry. Arturo and Christian bring deep experience and expertise in delivering enterprise solutions to customers and managing relationships for long term success, which will benefit our partners and clients.”

We met a great guy named Mike Cearley at the Digital Signage Expo last week and wanted to pass along info on his blog, called the eleventh screen.  Enjoyed reading his insights and perceptions that he took away from the show.  He made some great posts, including one about cutting through the clutter of solutions and focusing on telling the story about how to connect with the audience and drive results.

Great to meet you Mike.  We look forward to seeing more.

DSE 2010

If you are attending DSE 2010 this week in Las Vegas stop by to visit Reflect at Booth #1627.

See the in-store digital merchandising POD used by DDC and Labatt.  Also, we’ll be showing how to use the new “Smart Media” features for ReflectView 5 for easily targeting by geography and time for your digital signage promotions, and check out the new support for leveraging Windows 7 players as well as new options for embedded media appliances that are integrated with ReflectView.

E-mail us at info@reflectsystems.com if you’d like to set up a specific time to talk.  If you won’t be at the show, let us know and we’ll find a time that works for you to talk.  We can tell you about new developments from the show, what’s going on with our great partners, and what your plans are this year for digital media.

Also, follow us on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/reflectsystems).

Strong, immediate boosts in sales prompted Labatt Breweries of Canada to more than double the footprint of an in-store digital merchandising program developed and managed by veteran digital signage solutions company Digital Display and Communications (DDC) together with technology provided by Reflect Systems, Inc.  Labatt will expand the number of “POD” digital signage merchandising units it has in the field to more than 500 by early 2010, based on the encouraging results of an initial rollout of 200 units that started in selected Western Canada retailers in 2009.

Following strong pilot results, DDC using Reflect Systems software was engaged by Labatt to help it develop a true scalable turnkey solution that delivered on a set of well-defined core objectives like influencing buying decisions and better controlling sales promotions in stores. DDC was responsible for the technical system design, hardware and software procurement, assembly, configuration and project management for the program, which features an attractive merchandising unit based around a 32-inch LCD monitor and built-in media player.

The first batch of POD units was rolled out to stores in mid-2009, and had an immediate, compelling effect on sales.  “The actual results are confidential, but we can say that the sales increase on promoted products in stores that have the PODs, versus those that don’t, raised some eyebrows,” said DDC’s VP Business Development, Steve Harris.

“In 2009 we were able to affect strong results in sales lift when leveraging digital media near the point of sale,” said Stephen Nesbit, President & COO of Reflect Systems.  “We’re excited by the success the ReflectView platform is having in digital retailing applications, and from the positive results we’re seeing in projects like the Labatt and DDC program.  DDC clearly has what it takes to implement great digital merchandising programs, and we congratulate them on an impressive solution that really puts together all the necessary components for success.”

About DDC:

Digital Display & Communications Inc. (DDC) specializes in The Full Picture™ of digital signage services, from initial consultation and system design, through to ongoing content production and network operations. Also known as digital merchandising, narrowcasting, and dynamic signage, digital signage delivers targeted multimedia messages to specific locations at specific times.  DDC is located in Waterloo Region, the hub of Canada’s Technology Triangle.

About Reflect Systems:

Reflect Systems provides digital media software and services for retailers and other organizations.  Reflect currently powers over 175,000 active digital displays, including some of the largest in-store media networks such as Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Verizon Wireless.  From strategic planning and deployment of networked solutions to content strategies and tactics, Reflect provides a proven approach to maximizing effective results for rich media promotions with digital signage, mobile and interactive applications. Reflect Systems, based in Dallas TX, is privately held.  For more information, visit www.reflectsystems.com.

DDC worked with Labatt Breweries of Canada to deploy merchandising PODs into over 200 independent liquor and beer stores across Western Canada. Each POD is updated each month in concert with the Labatt promotional calendar. System design, project management, ongoing content management and creative services provided by DDC.

2010 Prediction #5 – A fragmented industry will begin to resolve identity confusion

Digital Signage…In-Store Digital Media…Digital-out-of-Home (DooH)…

Confused yet?  The identity crisis among vendors, industry associations, and (most importantly) end-user customers, has caused a great deal of hand wringing and continues to be a nuisance.

In 2009, many of the proverbial wagons circled around the term Digital-out-of-Home as a catch-all term for much of the market usage of digital display applications in “public venues”.  This still leads to much confusion, especially when we look at the differences between advertising and merchandising applications.

So, is “Digital Signage” the underlying technology used for DooH applications?  And should in-store digital media, increasingly used for retailer and brand merchandising (and less so for traditional advertising models) belong in the DooH category, or a subset – “Digital Retailing”?

2010 will, by necessity, see more focus by all stakeholders to minimize the confusion and define the terms more appropriately.  There are great things to talk about, but breaking down the language barriers will help us all.

The identity confusion of the industry will show some improvement, but will still remain.  As long as there are companies trying to serve “all digital signage needs” there will be confusion.  Once we see more focus by companies on solutions for out-of-home advertising, in-store digital merchandising, and informational digital signage, respectively, then we’ll see some improvement in perception and understanding of the market.

There has been plenty of commentary on the blurring of the lines between digital signage and kiosks.

When does a digital sign become a kiosk – when it has a touch screen?

• How does an adding an interactive element help to achieve desired business results?
• What is the right device for interacting with out-of-home digital displays? Touch screens? Mobile phones?

These are not easy questions to answer because it depends on the environment.

Take, for example, retail environments, where merchandising and customer experience are vital and digital is a proven way to drive results. Here, there’s a clear role for interactivity. But, to what extent is interactivity required and how will the results be measured?

Retailers have been shown some really slick proof-of-concept ideas for immersive digital media “experiences”.  The problem is – how can these concepts be applied profitably to a retailer’s unique needs, and how are these systems scaled beyond a single demo to thousands of locations?

Many strategists responsible for digital signage networks (whether ad-based venues or in-store digital networks) are taking a very cautious approach to employing interactivity.  One very big reason is because there is uncertainty about the extent mobile smartphones may (or may not) be used as an interactive touch point.

There are a lot of questions being asked, with answers still being formulated.  While I have my own opinions on how things will develop over time (I’ll reserve these for future entries), I’ll just say for now that for 2010 most large-scale deployments of digital signage will either be non-interactive, or they will include simple and inexpensive implementation. More ambitious investments and powerful interactive applications will be left on the back burner to simmer a bit longer.

Matt Schmitt