Understanding your Residential Distribution Overview

The Residential Distribution Overview is a valuable tool designed to help publishers confidently showcase to clients and potential clients exactly where their magazines are being delivered—reaching the most desirable single-family households in their communities.

By strategically focusing on these high-value homes, your CL Distribution team ensures that your publication meets brand standards and connects with the ideal target audience for your clients. With annual postal route updates, we keep your distribution aligned with strategic growth goals, ensuring your publication continues to expand its impact and success issue after issue.

Key Components of Residential Distribution

1. Focus
   • Distribution is limited to single-family dwelling units (SFDU). CL does not mail to multi-family homes - such as apartments, townhomes or condos.
2. Carrier Routes
   • The postal service breaks down the ZIP code into smaller, more manageable walking or driving routes for each carrier. The routes are designed to be the most efficient way to deliver mail to all the homes and businesses in that area, minimizing the carrier's travel time and distance.
3. Establishing Residential list
   • A residential list is generated by selecting routes based on key criteria such as home value and median income, beginning with the 6,500 to 7,000 most desirable homes in each territory.

Residential Distribution Overview Layout

The distribution report includes:

• Zip Code: Lists assigned zip codes.
• Carrier Route ID: (abbreviated as CRID) Unique identifier for each postal route.
• City: City as defined by the Postal Service.
• SFDU: Total Single-Family Dwelling Units (homes) on the route.
• Median Income: Average taxable income reported to the IRS for the area.
• Median Home Value: Average SFDU property value.
• Median Age: Average age of residents.
• PHWC: Percentage of homes with children.
• State: State.

Example of the Residential Distribution Overview

Using the Overview Effectively

• For New Publishers
  • Shows exactly what areas that will be receiving your magazine.
  • Use this for sales and to answer any questions when looking up addresses.
• For Established Publishers
  • Highlighted routes represent existing routes that continue to meet or exceed City Lifestyle brand demographics.
  • Unhighlighted routes are routes NEW to your distribution. They may not have existed when your last overview was created, the USPS changed route structures based on community growth or adversity (such as wildfires, hurricanes or other situations) OR it is a route recommended for growth of your magazine.
  • Routes listed below the legend table are recommended for removal as new homes may have usurped the value of the previous route, changes by the USPS of the numbering of routes, OR a host of other reasons.

Annual Review Recommendation

City Lifestyle performs an annual review to optimize all distribution routes. This process ensures your publication consistently meets brand standards and achieves maximum community reach. While we strive to maintain existing coverage when possible, if current tier constraints limit the ability to increase total distribution, the final decision will prioritize the most strategically optimized route to best uphold brand standards and market growth.

Established Routes

Once Routes are set they will appear in ARC > Distribution > Residential Routes

Understanding your Residential Distribution Overview

Discover how to navigate through your Residential Distribution Overview and access essential information effortlessly.

1. Residential Distribution Overview

The Residential Distribution Overview is a valuable tool designed to help publishers confidently showcase to clients and potential clients exactly where their magazines are being delivered—reaching the most desirable single-family households in their communities. By strategically focusing on these high-value homes, your CL Distribution team ensures that your publication meets brand standards and connects with the ideal target audience for your clients. With annual postal route updates, we keep your distribution aligned with strategic growth goals, ensuring your publication continues to expand its impact and success issue after issue.

2. Key Components of Residential Distribution

The key components of residential distribution are Focus, Carrier Routes, and Quantity. The distribution is limited to single-family homes, specifically excluding condos, townhomes, and apartments to maintain your target demographic. Carrier Routes are created when the postal service breaks a ZIP code into smaller walking or driving routes. These routes are designed to be the most efficient way to deliver mail to all homes and businesses in that area.

3. Key Components of Residential Distribution

A residential list is generated by selecting routes based on key criteria such as home value and median income, beginning with the 6,500 to 7,000 most desirable homes in each territory.

4. Report Overview

Here is an example of the residential distribution report. It includes your residential routes zip codes, the carrier routes ID, which are unique identifiers for each postal routes, the city, the of total single-family homes, the average income reported to the IRS, average single-family home property value, average age of the residents, percentage of homes with children and the state.

5. Using the Overview Effectively

For new Publishers, the overview shows exactly what areas will be receiving your magazine. Use this for sales and to answer any questions when looking up addresses. For established Publishers, the highlighted routes represent current routes that continue to meet or exceed City Lifestyle target demographics. Unhighlighted routes are new suggestions from the Distribution team and route listed below the legend table are recommended for removal, typically due to routes changes by the USPS.

6. Distribution

Once routes are established, Publishers can view them in ARC by clicking the Distribution tab on the left hand side.

7. Select Magazine

Select the magazine from the dropdown menu.

8. Click "Residential Routes"

Access residential distribution details under the Residential Routes tab.

9. View Residential Routes

Here Publishers can view monthly residential distribution routes. Publishers are encouraged to annually update their distribution list to ensure they’re always being received in the highest value homes available in their targeted demographic territory.

This guide walks you through understanding your Residential Distribution Overview.

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