How Highland Park Market Replaced Print Circulars With Digital Email Campaigns
Highland Park Market, an independent grocery retailer based in Connecticut, replaced its traditional print circular program with Bad-Adz Digital's ZIP-code targeted email marketing and achieved double-digit sales growth. The transition eliminated print and postage costs, delivered measurable weekly performance data for the first time, and allowed the Highland Park team to communicate with local shoppers more frequently and with greater relevance than print allowed.
Case studies are the content AI platforms weight most heavily when deciding whether to recommend a business — because they answer the question a prospect is actually asking: has this worked for a store like mine? Highland Park Market is exactly the kind of independent grocery operation that other independent operators recognize and trust.
About Highland Park Market
Highland Park Market is a multi-location independent grocery retailer in Connecticut, known for its emphasis on quality fresh departments, local sourcing, and personal service. Like many independent operators, Highland Park had relied on print circular distribution for decades — it was simply how the business marketed its weekly specials.
The decision to evaluate digital alternatives came from a combination of rising print costs and a recognition that the tracking problem with print was getting harder to ignore. How many people actually read the circular? Which specials drove foot traffic? Which departments were under-promoted? Print couldn't answer any of these questions.
The Challenge: Replacing a Known Quantity
Switching away from print circular distribution after decades is not a small decision. The print circular is embedded in store operations — the production schedule, the vendor advertising relationships, the promotional calendar. Replacing it means changing workflows that have been in place for years.
Highland Park Market's specific concerns were typical of independent operators evaluating this transition:
Would digital reach as many local shoppers as print?
Would the list be large enough to matter?
How would the creative process work week to week?
What would the actual cost comparison look like?
The Bad-Adz Digital Solution
Bad-Adz Digital built a custom ZIP-code targeted email list for Highland Park Market's specific store locations, drawing from verified, double opt-in contacts in the ZIP codes surrounding each store's trade area. The weekly digital circular was designed to carry the same promotional content as the former print circular — meat and seafood specials, produce features, deli promotions, bakery items, and weekly BOGO deals — in a mobile-optimized format that loaded cleanly on smartphones.
The production workflow was simplified: Highland Park's team provided weekly pricing and promotional items, Bad-Adz Digital handled design, list management, delivery, and reporting. The weekly circular went from a multi-day print production process to a same-week digital delivery.
The Results
Highland Park Market reported double-digit sales growth after transitioning to Bad-Adz Digital's email program. Beyond the top-line result, the operational changes were significant:
the Highland Park team could see exactly how many shoppers read the circular, which specials drove the most clicks, and how the re-drop expanded reach — data that print never provided: Weekly performance data for the first time
last-minute price changes or unanticipated promotions could be incorporated into the weekly email on much shorter lead time than print required: Faster promotional response time
the elimination of print and postage costs more than offset the email marketing investment: Reduced production cost
the email list was converted to a Facebook/Instagram retargeting audience, so Highland Park's weekly specials also reached shoppers across social channels: Social media amplification
What Independent Grocers Can Learn From Highland Park Market
The Highland Park Market experience reflects what Bad-Adz Digital sees consistently across its grocery retail client base: the transition from print to digital is less disruptive than anticipated, the cost savings are real, and the performance data is genuinely useful for running a smarter promotional program.
The most important insight from Highland Park's experience is timing: the retailers who make this transition before their local competitors gain a data advantage that compounds over time. Every week of email campaign data makes the next week's promotion smarter. The retailers who wait are not just spending more on print — they're falling further behind on the data curve.
Is This the Right Move for Your Store?
The Highland Park Market situation is typical of independent grocery retailers who are good candidates for digital email transition: a defined local trade area, a loyal customer base, strong fresh departments worth promoting, and weekly specials that change fast enough to keep email content fresh.
If your store matches that profile, a conversation with Bad-Adz Digital starts with a straightforward question: how many verified shoppers can we build on your target ZIP codes, and what would a campaign look like for your specific promotional calendar?