October 25, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 37 . . Paper Announces Changes FROM PAGE 36 ing as a delivery driver for the paper for 10 years. He has refined the company’s delivery operation and approaches the hardcopy distribution from a strategic standpoint. The Dispatch is distributed weekly to more than 200 locations, from Snow Hill north to Bethany Beach (in the summer) and Ocean City west to Salisbury. It’s a vast regional circulation, according to Green. “Ray has introduced the concept of ‘recovery’ to our circulation. It’s an approach rooted in common sense. The paper is delivered on Friday, and we restock high-volume places throughout the weekend. Additionally, Ray goes out daily and moves papers from locations that might not be moving as well as others. For instance, if a north Ocean City convenience store is not moving as many papers in October as it was in July, he will relocate those papers on Sunday morning to high-volume sites, like Wal-Mart or grocery stores in other areas. This allows our paper to reach the people where they are on a daily basis and nobody else does it. It makes a big difference.” According to Green, better managing the paper’s circulation is critical because the goal each week is a zero return rate, meaning every paper printed is consumed by the public. “Every week is different. Some weeks the papers do not move at a certain grocery store as well as they did the week before, and we can address that and shuffle papers to places where the demand is greater,” Green said. “It’s a big deal for us. Simply plopping the same amount of papers in high-volume places every Friday morning is not good enough anymore. We have to be flexible and react on a weekly basis through our ‘recovery’ work.” Customized Delivery Van Since the circulation of the printed product is so critical, a new delivery van was recently purchased to carry out the work. The Ford E-350 van features a customized wrap created by Green and a Delaware vendor. The van is capable of carrying thousands of newspapers and provides the paper the opportunity to further its brand through the ad wrap, said Green. “It’s imperative for us to maintain our marketing and branding so our readers continue to seek out our publication. It’s proactive self-marketing. We have been in business since 1984 but we take nothing for granted. We are not guaranteed future success and reinvesting is dollars well spent. By promoting our product in this way, we enrich our brand and that helps our advertisers,” Green said. “Like most businesses, which make changes each year to their products, buildings and offerings, we need to constantly be reinvesting in our brand, and we believe this will help our clients as well by continuously encouraging readers to seek out our product.” A new delivery vehicle featuring a customized wrap was recently unveiled. Photo by Xtreme Graphics COMING SOON BIGGER, BETTER & MORE at 131st Street & Coastal Highway OCEAN CITY’S NEWEST SPORTS BAR! FREE WI-FI HOT STEAMED CRABS Dine-In or Carry-Out Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 4 p.m. WALK-IN OR CALL 410-250-3131 (Available in J/R’s 131st Street Only) Try Our New Additions To Our Sports Bar Menu GRILLED OYSTERS • RAW OYSTERS CLAMS CASINO • CREAM OF CRAB And Much More HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS BAR FOOD & DRINKS ALL DAY LONG Watch All Your MLB & NFL Action On Plenty Of Large HD TV’s With Plenty Of Seating. Plenty Of FREE Parking For J/R’s Customers BOB HUGHES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 • 6 P.M. HOWARD ON THE PIANO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 • 5 P.M. The Best Place for Ribs, Seafood & Steaks Full Dinner Menu In Our Spacious, Separate Dining Room Open Year Round! Open Wed., Thurs., Fri. & Sat. at 4 p.m Closed Sun., Mon., & Tues. This Week Only • Finishing Up Expansion 131st St. & Coastal Hwy. 410-250-3100 • www.jrsribs.com Carry-Out Available 410-250-3131 • Cold Beer • Bags Of Ice