User:Thatwhoiswise/engage:BDR

engage:BDR is a private, West Hollywood, CA-based ad-tech firm specializing in multimedia advertising solutions for digital marketers and one of the first to offer performance-based marketing. Over time, they have grown from 85% display advertising revenues to 85% video advertising revenues and are now expanding into the smart TV and influencer marketing space. They currently have one of the largest ad networks according to Quantcast serving advertising across desktop and mobile devices to 500 million user worldwide.

History
engage:BDR was founded in 2009 by Ted Dhanik who was an early member of the Myspace team, where he focused on marketing and worked directly with Tom Anderson. After leaving Myspace in 2008, Dhanik partnered with Kurtis Rintala and Kenneth Kwan to create a system to buy advertising inventory at wholesale. Under the name "engage:BDR" the team began working directly with publishers to create customized advertising campaigns for individual clients. engage:BDR then expanded its network of publishers. The company soon launched a real-time bidding platform that allowed clients' ads to run on specific websites, as opposed to placements chosen by engage:BDR's system. Later on, the company developed specialized advertising solutions including OutStream and State-of-Mind Targeting. The company has created partnerships with industry giants like Neustar  and AppNexus. They have worked with clients including Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, McDonalds, and Toyota.

In 2016 engage:BDR purchased Mydiveo as well as other media companies with the goal of branching off into publishing.

Acquisition of Mydiveo
In August 2016, engage:BDR announced its acquisition of mydiveo, an artist discovery platform. The Los Angeles Times reported that the acquisition was the first of several planned deals, with the aim of developing a publishing arm to complement the existing advertising solution business.

Work with TAG
engage:BDR was an early participant in the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an industry organization created to target key issues facing businesses in the space. They were in the first round of companies to be certified to TAG's Inventory Quality Guidelines and were among the first to commit to anti-fraud and anti-malware certifications. They are members in TAG's anti-fraud and anti-malware working groups. The company has made public efforts to indentify and address trends in malware and malvertising.