Pittsburgh's economic development leaders launch 'Next is Now' campaign

As part of the contingent that worked on the 2017 proposal to land an Amazon headquarters, Stefani Pashman saw that the Pittsburgh region lacked a cohesive marketing plan.

Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, was among those who spent Tuesday afternoon on a virtual kickoff of a campaign that changes that: “Pittsburgh Region: Next Is Now” is the region’s first branding effort in more than a decade.

It presents “a unified message to capture the essence of Pittsburgh,” Pashman said.

The plan became one of Pashman’s top priorities after the region did not prevail in Amazon’s HQ2 contest, a national competition for cities and regions to host the Seattle-based behemoth’s second headquarters, promising some 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. While Pittsburgh was among the 20 finalists, it lost out to Arlington, Va., and New York, with Nashville receiving the consolation prize of a logistics hub. (Amazon later withdrew from New York.)

The Allegheny Conference worked for about two years before launching the campaign because it wanted to “get this just right,” according to Phil Cynar, senior communications specialist for organization, the 75-year-old nonprofit that promotes the economy and quality of life of the 10-county region of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“If you’re from Pittsburgh you know what’s happening here,” PNC Financial Services CEO Bill Demchak said. “The problem is the world doesn’t know this.” Demchak is chairman of the Allegheny Conference board.

The campaign is a comprehensive attempt to tell a unified story about the region and build its brand. “That brand is going to play a critical role” in future development, Demchak said.

PNC operates in 41 metropolitan areas and he knows that leaders from each are vying for their share of global investment and landing talented people to work in their cities. Until this campaign, the Pittsburgh region hasn’t been sharing one story, Demchak said.

The “Next Is Now” campaign is the lens through which the region will be promoted, he said.

Pashman described the campaign as “how we want the world to know us.” She did not specify how much was spent to craft the new campaign.

Mark Thomas is president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the development arm of the Allegheny Conference. “This is the right moment for us to claim our story, better define our future” and communicate the strengths of the region, he said. Founded in 1944 to clean up and develop post-war Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, the conference now also serves Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

To Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis, the collaboration required to draft the campaign is a key to the region’s success. Pittsburgh International Airport’s future success, she said, depends on the region’s recovery from the downturns spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Because the pandemic hit before the campaign was finished, it was crafted with that recovery in mind, said Cecelia Cagni, the Allegheny Conference’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.

Making Pittsburgh a more diverse and welcoming city was also considered amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, Thomas said, and the region will be marketed as a place where Black professionals can feel welcome. Thomas joined PRA in July 2019, after senior development positions in New York and Los Angeles.

Leaders of other organizations that work to encourage development in the region support the new branding.

“The sum is greater than its parts,” said Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. “I couldn’t be more excited to share this story.”