¿Yunz hablan español?

There is a gentleman from Mexico, by the name of José; he works for a restaurant close to the NCS office. We often speak in Spanish about how things are going with our companies. One day it was really cold outside and I asked him why he was living in Pittsburgh since he is not used to the weather conditions here. Out of all the places to live, why not choose a city where there are more Hispanics and warmer weather. He started to share with me all the wonderful things he loves about Pittsburgh.

José’s reasons for coming here are a good representation of the growing Hispanic community in the region. Pittsburgh is a great place to raise a family, the cost of living is low, and there are wonderful educational opportunities. José emphasized how much he likes that Pittsburgh is not as fast paced and it’s much safer than the major cities that Hispanics usually populate. From the calmness of the city, to its manageable population size, many Hispanics are making Pittsburgh their new home.

Until the release of this year’s census estimates, it is unclear how many Hispanics are living in the city of Pittsburgh and its surrounding area, especially since a large number of them are undocumented. In 2000 the U.S. census estimated 1.3% of Pittsburgh’s population being made up of Hispanics and since that was 10 years ago, we can not rely on those numbers. According to Martha Mantilla, who runs the Eduardo Lozano Latin American Collection at the University of Pittsburgh “Even though the population is very small [compared to other cities,] it's really growing tremendously," "The growth is very noticeable."

Brian Wiles, co-owner of La Jornada Latina, finds profit in this emerging population since he launched the new Spanish-language monthly paper geared toward Pittsburgh's Latino and Hispanic populations.

So where can one find this emerging population? There is a high concentration of Hispanics in the Beechview and Oakland areas. Through the noticeable increase in Hispanic population, it is evident that José is not alone in his reason for coming to Pittsburgh. I am therefore quite surprised with the delayed response that local companies have made to the growing Hispanic population in this region. Sure, you can walk into Lowes Home Improvement and find signs in both English and Spanish, but I am not sure other companies are aware of the wonderful opportunities the Hispanic consumer brings to Pittsburgh.

Prior to the plunge in the United States economy, Hispanics were known for their brand loyalty. According to Tamara Barber, a Forrester data analyst, Hispanics are expected to return to their loyalty to brands and start spending again. One reason for this is because they are less likely to have extreme credit card debt. Therefore, marketing strategists should make Hispanics their first target group in post recession marketing, especially in the Pittsburgh region.

Felicia Thomas
Marketing Coordinator