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Coke Names on Bottles Spell Money for Fintech With Data Focus

  • Experian, known as a credit checker, now analyzes big data
  • Stock has doubled in four years as U.K. benchmark stagnates
People create personalized "Share a Coke" bottles.

People create personalized "Share a Coke" bottles.

Photographer: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images North America
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When Brian Cassin’s daughter saw a bottle of Diet Coke with her name on it at the airport, she told her father she had to have it. The personalized trinket from an iconic brand was, for her dad, another ratification of his belief that big data generates big money.

Cassin, 51, who runs Experian Plc, has helped transform his company from a credit-reference firm into a broader data and software business. After starting with maintaining vast datasets of personal credit histories, most of its growth now comes from advising big companies on how to monetize the information they have on customers and supply chains, while avoiding privacy scandals.