Since 1998, Top Stitch BERNINA in Medford has been serving the sewing and quilting needs of southern Oregon and northern California. Owners Jonathan and Karen Hanken have been public television viewers all their lives, and explain it was only natural to begin a sponsorship with Southern Oregon PBS 12 years ago (then Southern Oregon Public Television).

“I met them at a screening and they have been great friends since,” said Robert Mead, Southern Oregon PBS’s Director of Corporate Support. “They have attended many of our events and have made many custom quilts for Southern Oregon PBS.”

Most recently, the couple’s shop has sponsored a variety of Masterpiece programs, like “Downton Abbey.” Karen also joined the SO PBS Board in 2019.

Q & A with Jonathan and Karen

PBS spoke to Jonathan and Karen Hanken, Top Stitch BERNINA owners about the value of their Southern Oregon PBS sponsorship.

• What were the goals of your partnership with Southern Oregon PBS?

Quite honestly, we’ve been viewers of PBS since our 20s. We’ve just always felt that, since SO PBS was the station we watch, people like us will also be watching it. And since we like our product, we assumed everyone who watched would like our product as well.

• How long have you been a sponsor with SO PBS?

Around 12 years.

• Who is your target customer?

We are a sewing machine store that sells quilt fabric as well, so we are generally hoping for women who are family-oriented and generally over 35, for the type of product we sell. Our customers tend to be slightly more affluent than average.

• How do the goals of Southern Oregon PBS align with your business?

We’ve always believed that it was important for us to support what we believe in. Our belief is that helping the community is what keeps the community strong, and that is a two-way street. We see that reflected when customers come in and mention that they’ve see our sponsorship and thank us. They want to do business with us, if they can.

• How does this partnership/sponsorship with SO PBS help your organization achieve its goals?

Because our service is creative, we can pinpoint some of those special timeslots that are specifically geared toward the clientele. We were excited to sign up as PBS sponsors because we felt that our advertising dollars would have a double punch: getting our name out to the appropriate demographic while supporting a worthwhile cause.

• Do you have any ROI or metrics to share in terms of results?

We don’t really have a way to track it. We just ask people how they heard about us and they let us know. It’s been doubly exciting when customers come in and say “thank you” for supporting their favorite programs. They’ve come from as far as Roseburg and Brookings to mention that’s how they heard about us. Some have even said, “We’re not interested in sewing, but we really like that you support Southern Oregon PBS, and we are here to say ‘thank you.’” They feel a closer connection with you than they would with just a simple cable television ad.

• From your perspective as a sponsor, why is SO PBS important? What does it deliver to your community?

It delivers quality programming. With Masterpiece, we feel like the quality of that show is just so far beyond what most people are seeing on regular TV stations. People who are looking for value and quality are the type of people who will watch that program.

Also, we don’t sponsor PBS NewsHour, but we watch it. WE feel that having that type of news available—news that is keyed down from everything else that is out there—is especially important to everyone, whether it’s oriented around this community or not.