TARGETING BABEL -- Picking Up the Lingo

Tired of worrying about media fragmentation? Try worrying about linguistic fragmentation. The Census Bureau recently reported that 14% of U.S. residents age 5 and older – nearly 32 million people – spoke a language other than English at home. While Spanish-speakers constitute more than half this linguagraphic segment, the most rapid growth was spread across an array of other languages – from Tagalog to Arabic to Urdu and Hindi. For marketers equipped to deal with the phenomenon, the trend could be a lucrative opportunity.