Overview
Northwest Grocers (NWG) supports a network of independently owned grocery stores across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. For its “America 250” campaign, timed to the July 4th holiday, NWG wanted to reach shoppers in each store’s local market and send them away from competitive retailers and straight to their digital circulars.
Red Pepper ran a targeted, four-week Amplify campaign (June 10 – July 7, 2026) across 22 participating grocery banners. The campaign delivered 1.4M ad views, reached 241,774 shoppers in 102K+ households, and drove double- and triple-digit growth in weekly circular engagement at most participating stores.
The Challenge: Winning the Holiday Shopper for Independent Grocers
Independent grocers compete for the same holiday shoppers as much larger retailers, usually with smaller budgets and less visibility into what their media spend actually delivers.
NWG’s goals for America 250 were threefold:
- Reach Every Local Market: Run one campaign across 22 independently owned banners, each serving its own community.
- Own the Holiday Moment: Build awareness through the run-up to July 4th, one of the biggest grocery shopping weeks of the summer.
- Win Shoppers From Competitors: Pull shoppers away from competitive retailers and send them straight to each store’s circular.
After years of working with different media partners, NWG also needed something it hadn’t consistently had: clear, complete data on what its digital spend achieved at the store level.
The Red Pepper Solution: Targeted, Holiday-Timed Amplify Advertising
Red Pepper used its Amplify media platform to run a targeted, four-week digital campaign across all 22 participating banners, timed to build toward the July 4th holiday. Every ad drove shoppers directly into their local store’s interactive digital circular.
One Campaign, 22 Local Markets: Ran across independently owned grocery banners in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.
Gave each participating store targeted local reach as part of a single network-wide campaign.
Holiday-Timed Delivery: Weekly ad views built from 118K in the first week to a peak of 580K the week of June 24, and held strong at 411K through the holiday week.
Shoppers saw the ad about 6 times on average, keeping America 250 top of mind through July 4th.
Circular-First Targeting: Ads sent shoppers away from competitive retailers and straight to each store’s circular.
Clicks climbed every week of the campaign, from 194 in week one to 766 in the holiday week.
Results and Key Outcomes: Reach, Engagement and Circular Growth
Smarter targeting didn’t just move impressions, it moved shoppers. Strong reach and rising engagement translated directly into more shoppers using their local circulars.
1.4M
Ad Views
241,774
Shoppers Reached
0.19%
Holiday-Week CTR
6x
Frequency
The ripple effect on circular engagement: With ads reaching 102K+ households across the campaign, weekly circular engagement rose by double and triple digits at most participating stores versus the month prior, including:
- +172% at Okanogan Market IGA
- +157% at Bayview & Ralph’s Thriftway
- +149% at Harvest Market (Estacada) and Martin’s Market Fresh IGA
Conclusion: Clear Data, Real Store-Level Growth
NWG’s America 250 campaign shows what optimized digital spend can do for a network of independent grocers: targeted local reach that builds toward the moments that matter, and measurable growth in circular engagement at the store level.
“After years of running these campaigns with different partners, this is the clearest, most complete data we’ve seen. I’m excited to bring these results to our stores.”— Jason Adams, Senior Director, NWG
NWG is already planning to expand the approach across more of its retailer network.
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