Removing loads of burden from these publishers and networks, Thalamus has grown its database to more than 50,000 ad partners. With a new Web site that features a clean design, Thalamus provides a rich layout of publishers? and networks? mobile ad offerings.

?Mobile plays a huge role here as most of the networks and publishers listed have a mobile component, if not being pure-play mobile ad networks,? said Garrett Gan, founder and CEO of Thalamus, San Francisco. ?Almost every single one of the 50,000 ad partners listed in our database have a mobile offering either through their ad network capabilities or serving mobile ads on their mobile Web site or app.?

Thalamus, a crowd-sourced database of over 50,000 ad partners across the globe, connects media buyers and sellers through an open data and review platform, which brings unprecedented transparency and organization to the complex digital advertising ecosystem.

Digital marketers and agency media planners are now able to view the capabilities, contacts, Web traffic, marketing collateral, and pricing of digital ad vendors across the world. Users can also read reviews written by other media buyers that reveal their experiences with ad partners, as well as prices they have paid, or these users can write reviews of their own to contribute to the community.

Through this platform, marketers can save a ton of time that was once spent on individual phone calls. Ad purchasers can now find in-depth summaries and directories about publishers that relate most to them and their companies.

Advertising vendors, which include ad networks, publishers, blogs, and demand platforms, can add themselves to this database, or edit an existing profile through a verified sign-up.

Thalamus claims to be the Yelp for digital advertising, Mr. Gan said.

Thalamus verifies all information added to the database by contributors to ensure all users are receiving correct data.

Reddit, eMarketer, Shazam, Conversant, USA Today, Pandora, Spotify, Associated Press and Condé Nast are other publishers and networks to adopt Thalamus? database and verify their profiles.

These mainstream news and service companies can easily rely on partners such as Thalamus to provide more revenue through advertisers.

Spirits company Bacardi recently bought advertising space on Pandora and targeted heavy mobile users with a contest that rewarded entrants with free vacation tickets while promoting the brand's Triangle station.

Mobile listeners using the Triangle station were met with a Bacardi ad, enticing them to enter the contest. Through this contest, Bacardi activated the social aspects of its brand to relate to outgoing mobile device users (see story).

Shazam has built its advertising platform this year as well.

With more than 700,000 Shazams during the Super Bowl and a revamped iOS application, Shazam is placing itself as an attractive option for second-screen marketing by providing its growing user base with added value.

During the Super Bowl, Shazam recognized all of the ads for the first time ever, with Chevrolet and Jaguar leading the way with top-Shazamed ads. Following the success of these second-screen engagements, Shazam announced a new look for its iPhone app (see story).

Through its database, Thalamus can serve as the bridge connecting Bacardi to Pandora and Chevrolet and Jaguar to Shazam. However, the aforementioned partnerships did not necessarily occur through the use of Thalamus' database. The are simply examples of recent advertising efforts by the brands mentioned.

?Our vision is to become the 'de facto standard of global advertising data, with all the information a digital marketer or media planner would need to source, evaluate, and connect with the ideal advertising partners matched to their goals,? Mr. Gan said.