One Example of How Verizon is Monetizing "Big Data"

The whole idea behind "big data" is the ability to analyze and then apply insights gleaned from examining the structured and unstructured data any organization generates in the normal conduct of its business. In principle, large mobile service providers generate lots of data a marketer might find useful. 

"One vertical is a venue--like a sports stadium, a college campus or ski area," says Colson Hillier, Verizon vice president of precision marketing. Colson says Verizon worked with a professional sports team. The objectives were to help the client identify which types of customers attended the sports team's events, and when, Verizon says. 

Among the findings was the insight that customers attending this sports team's events also attended events from other teams within a certain league, so that helped them deliver joint promotional opportunities and ticketing packages with other teams in the league.