Anyone who has spent any kind of time in the online advertising community knows that the concept of real-time bidding is nothing new. In fact, it’s a vital part of what makes the industry function. Given the level of instantaneous communication that the Digital Age affords, it’s only logical that a bidding system, operating in real time, would become so crucial to marketing pros.

With that said, not all real time bidding (RTB) platforms are created equal. The problem lies in the fact that many of the platforms out there are designed by leading tech companies—and not necessarily by ad networks. So the technology is meant to be just that—technology, impressive on the technical level but not always made with the real-world, everyday needs of online advertisers in mind.

However, an ad network called engage:BDR has taken on the challenge of righting this wrong. They’ve announced the launch of a new platform of their own, a real-time bidding client that they’ve winsomely christened First Impression.

Nick Lynch, who serves as the Vice President of Platforms for engage:BDR, says the network’s RTB system is unique from all the others because it seeks to provide the kinds of solutions, the kind of competitive advantage, that actual advertisers are looking for. Indeed, he’s quick to note that his company has been an ad network for four years now, and they know exactly what advertisers are looking for in a bidding platform.

Indeed, according to Lynch, the First Impression technology is historic. It represents the first RTB platform to allow advertisers to purchase inventory directly from publishers, so long as they are within the engage:BDR network. This is an alternative to how these platforms usually work, focusing just on ad exchanges.

What this means is that advertisers don’t have to worry that their ads are going to show up on some totally random, unrelated website somewhere. They have greater control, and therefore greater opportunities for success. The company’s president, Ted Dhanik, says First Impression customers will also receive access to the network’s ad exchange traffic, as well as to inventory outside of the engage:BDR network.

This was a guest post by Rich Gorman of DirectResponse.net. In the post, Rich speaks on behalf of engage:BDR. and their new real time bidding platform: First Impression by engage:BDR.