XGraph maps connections between web users while AddThis allows web content to be shared and tracked. Clearspring intends to use the combination of technologies to identify a brand’s core audience and “millions of other connected and like-minded people online” with the aim of improving campaign performance.

Clearspring chief executive Ramsey McGrory said the company is responding to two major shifts online: the web becoming more social and personal, and advertising becoming data-driven and accountable.

“To compete in this new world,” he said, “companies will not only need the ability to access and process big data, but also have the ability to activate that data to create value for consumers, publishers and advertisers.”