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Thank you, Dakota Harvest Bakers!

“Our new business, Dakota Harvest Bakers, is a very new concept for Grand Forks’ area residents. We started our bakery with a three-fold passion: The bounty of the Northland harvest, exceptional baked goods from the ancient craft of baking, and quality customer service. Eighty percent of what goes into our baked goods is produced within 200 miles of the bakery. Every loaf of bread, every pastry, every cake, and every cookie embodies our pride and passion.

We underwrite Prairie Public because the stations and listeners share our passion for this area and for quality. And, yes, we tune in to Prairie Public radio from our kitchen—the sound mingles perfectly with the aromas of our gibbasier pastries, artisan breads and other creations.”
--George Kelley, center, is pictured with bakery co-owner and co-founder Paul Holje, right, and Tracy Foy, Chamber Ambassador, during Dakota Harvest Bakers’ “bread-cutting” opening celebration May 15, 2006.

Thank you, USDA!

Clare Carlson, North Dakota State Director for USDA Rural Development, recently presented a check for $397,000 to CEO John Harris in support of Prairie Public Broadcasting's regional productions. USDA Rural Development serves as the lead federal entity for rural development needs, and administers program assistance through three agencies: Rural Housing Service, Rural Business - Cooperative Service, and Rural Utilities Service. Visit the USDA's web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov.

Thank you, Xcel Energy!

"Xcel Energy is proud to support Prairie Public Broadcasting. As a company, we are not only dedicated to providing our customers with reliable energy and high quality service, we also are committed to supporting the communities we serve. Underwriting Prairie Public programming is just one way we do that. We are honored to be a part of the effort to improve the quality of life in our community!"

Mark Nisbet, Principal Manager
Xcel Energy

Thank you, Browning Arts!

"Since I started underwriting with Prairie Public Broadcasting, I have had interest in my business from all over the state and farther into Minnesota than I had before. It has definitely been a plus for me, bringing word of my services, and especially those that aren't offered by others, to a much wider audience than anything else I could ever imagine, and at a rate far below any other medium. Besides, I love to be able to tell people who want me to advertise with them (I get many of these calls) that all my advertising money is committed to public broadcasting — it's the perfect answer to them and the conversation is over — no other reasons or explanations are necessary!"

Mary Weaver, Owner, Browning Arts

More testimonials



"Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (formerly Aid Association for Lutherans/Lutheran Brotherhood) has a great challenge to build awareness of its new name. Our sponsorship of public radio programming is an important part of our brand building effort. It helps us reach the right audience at the right time with the right message."

Larry Borlaug, CLU, ChFC, Managing Partner, North Country Regional Financial Office of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.



"People listen to North Dakota Public Radio. At a recent exhibition opening at the North Dakota Museum of Art, several visitors told me that they came because they'd heard about the opening over North Dakota Public Radio.

We're hungry here in North Dakota and Western Minnesota—hungry not only for fine music and intelligent news reporting, but also for the good word on the arts. I must express our gratitude to North Dakota Public Radio—a haven, a sanctuary, and a necessary voice for the arts."

Thank you.
Barbara Crow,
Administrative Assistant, North Dakota Museum of Art.


"I have been sponsoring All Things Considered on North Dakota Public Radio for the past five years and believe it to be a valuable advertising vehicle for my restaurant. There have been numerous times people have mentioned, "We were driving into Bismarck and heard about The Walrus on North Dakota Public Radio and decided to come here." Of course, we get mentions from local patrons, too!

All Things Considered will continue to be an important part of my marketing plan. Keep up the great programming!"

Randal Walz, proprietor
The Walrus Restaurant


"Retina Consultants, Ltd. chose to support Prairie Public Broadcasting because of the wholesome programming and target audience we wanted to attract. We have had many patients tell us that they heard of us while watching Prairie Public Television. Our sponsorship of Prairie Public was a decision we are glad to have made."

Laurie Polka
Assistant Administrative Manager
Retina Consultants, Ltd.



"For whatever reasons, the communities of private business and industry and the world of public broadcasting have, traditionally, rarely looked to one another in terms of creating marketing alliances that work both ways. In other words, public radio and television has always "existed due to the generosity of listeners and viewers just like you," to borrow the oft-repeated line of myriad pledge drives.

I don't mean to upset the apple cart here by suggesting that public broadcasting alter the course of its core philosophy. After all, it is the basis of your unique appeal. However, to many of us in the so-called main stream of business and marketing, your appeal has been somewhat minimized due, in large part, to actual data that supports your relative value in terms of return on investment to all those "bottom liners" out there. And, as unsettling as it may be to those of us who find the task of balancing a checkbook an unsavory waste of time, "bottom liners" are everywhere. At home or in the office, they're the ones that make sure we spend less than we make. They're called accountants, business partners, bankers, financial counselors and —oh yeah—husbands and/or wives.

The good news is, times are changing. The bad news is, "bottom liners" are not. The trick is to realize these things and take advantage of both. Thanks to the onslaught of computer technology, the internet and e-commerce, marketers and corporate advertisers are begin forced to look at new solutions and better ways to gain an advantage over the competition. To do so successfully means the difference between profit and loss...and happy versus downright rude bottom-line-oriented partners on all fronts.

So, what am I trying to get at here. I guess the main point is that public broadcasting in general, and specifically North Dakota Public Broadcasting, should spend less time adhering to the old not-supported-by-advertising-dollars mindset and realize that, whatever you call it, "listeners and viewers like you" includes generous listeners and viewers of the corporate variety; specifically those businesses with their hearts and minds in the right place and open to new ways to market their products and services in this new age of commerce. Today, more than ever, the real bottom line is "how can we help one another"?

Developing long-term relationships that work for everyone—even accountants—can be the key to staying ahead of the curve in the fast-paced, ever-changing, highly-competitive business world of today. Now it's up to public broadcasting to show us how to turn the key that you, so uniquely, provide."

Al Hovland
President, aha'/CyberDuck Interactive
Fargo


"Public television is an important tool. As a corporate sponsor, we believe we are supporting a good community organization that contributes to the quality of life in the region. We are reaching audiences we need to reach from investors to decision makers to landowners; and, we are reminding this community audience about pipeline transportation and the role Enbridge plays in meeting our energy needs. Corporate sponsorship in public television is a good corporate investment."

Mark Kinblom, manager
Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC.


"Why do we support public broadcasting? For more than 35 years, Prairie Public Broadcasting has provided outstanding entertainment, education and insight to its viewers and listeners throughout the Upper Midwest. Its commitment to high quality and excellence in its programming selections is obvious. In addition, Prairie Public Broadcasting's transition from dependence on government funding and gaming revenues to a strong membership support base is also a success story.

Corporate sponsorships are an important and significant element in the financial base of public broadcasting. Prairie Public Broadcasting—both television and radio—have earned an important place in enhancing the cultural and educational lives of those of us who live and work in the Upper Midwest, and in so doing, they have earned our corporate support.

MDU Resources Group, Inc. and our entire family of companies—Montana-Dakota Utilities, Co., Knife River Corporation and WBI Holding, Inc.—are proud to be among those corporate sponsors. We view our corporate support as an "opportunity" to contribute a high quality product to our customers and the communities where we are privileged to conduct business."

Dennis Boyd,
Senior Governmental Affairs Representative
MDU Resources Group, Inc.


What is corporate sponsorship?
Burley Barnett

I was recently visiting with a member from Winnipeg and he voiced a concern that I have heard more than once: "I don't need to be a member if you have huge national sponsors."

The fact is, Prairie Public receives no revenues from the national sponsors; they directly support the production of the nationally-produced programs. Local businesses do, however, support Prairie Public much in the same way as you support with your local membership dollars.

The difference between acknowledgement for national underwriters and that for local underwriters is easy to distinguish. National spots are generally within the context of the program, sometimes after the introduction or before the end credits. They usually have "movement"—people and/or products on display, and music beds. Local underwriting spots are distinguished by a "static" name of the business or organization with a logo; they have a voice-over, but no music.

Both types follow the guidelines set forth by the FCC for public broadcasting. However, the national spots are far more expensive to produce. They also can be more easily mistaken for "commercials," which can lead to the impression that the station receives large amounts of corporate funding.

Prairie Public Broadcasting depends on community support for its survival—membership and corporate support. We would like to encourage you to patronize our local underwriters. When you do, please thank them for their support of Prairie Public Broadcasting. If you are a business owner or know someone who is, a corporate support representative is here to discuss the opportunities for corporate support. Give us a call at 800-359-6900.

 

With classics like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and new favorites such as Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur, Prairie Public is home to the best and most beloved children's programs on television. Kids (and their parents) everywhere are tuning in to public broadcasting for programming that is entertaining, educational, and most of all, fun.

With the five top-rated preschool programs and the top 3 programs for kids aged 2-11 in all of television, public television programs are #1 with children across the country and in our region.

And we're not resting on our laurels, in 2001 we introduced children to some new friends—Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat and Jay Jay the Jet Plane, both of which are becoming fast favorites with children and parents alike. In 2002 the groundbreaking new children's series, Cyberchase, made learning math fun.

It's not just children watching. Almost 9 out of 10 parents of children age 11 or younger reported watching Arthur with their child at least one or two times per week. And 8 out of 10 parents watched Clifford the Big Red Dog with their child. And parents are paying attention to kids programming sponsors, too. An incredible 80% of parents could recall seeing a specific sponsor message. More importantly, more than half of these parents said they felt "a lot more favorably" toward that product because of its public television sponsorship.

Parents trust public television. When asked what network they preferred their children watch, the overwhelming response was public television—nearly 90%!

Sponsoring children's programming on public television takes your company message to an audience that values your support. Sponsorship demonstrates commitment to community and support of the values and ideals connected with public television—education, literacy and citizenship.

Dan's Supermarket in Bismarck, Hornbacher's Foods in Fargo, Country Hearth Bread in Fargo, and the North Central Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers in Fargo—all sponsors of Prairie Public children's television programming—understand how well sponsorship works. Call Prairie Public's corporate support department to find out how public broadcasting can work for your business.


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