How Many NPR Stations Does Boston Need?

Good article in the Boston Globe: "To listeners, line blurs between WGBH, WBUR."

It presents a good look at how two NPR-affiliated stations are competing in one market.

Both stations are working on answering the question: How many NPR stations does Boston need?

On the other hand, how many classic rock stations do we need? Or pop? Or country?

The real issue comes down to advertisers and donors -- and getting the former to buy time and the latter to donate to one station over the other.

How many overlapping stations does one market need?

The Importance of Little Things to Help Differentiate Companies

I had a lunch meeting at the Olive Garden on Rte 9 in Framingham yesterday, the first time I ever met someone at that restaurant and location.

I drove by the Shoppers World mall, in which it's located, but did not see a sign for Olive Garden. I drove past a big building that matched the architecture of the rest of the mall, but there was no sign at all on the side of the building. The side visible from Rte 9.

So I drove on.

Of course, the plain building without a sign on the side turned out to be the Olive Garden.

Eventually, I turned around, and saw that the sign on the front of the building (which does not face Rte 9) for Olive Garden is visible only when driving West. If you're driving East on Rte 9 as I was, you'll see the sign only in your rear view mirror.

When I got to the restaurant, the other people I was meeting laughed. Because they already knew what I had just learned (not that they had told me in advance). So here's some quick advice on how to differentiate Olive Garden on Rte 9: put up a sign on the large otherwise blank side that faces Rte 9, the road most people take out there.