Nostalgic ‘90s Social Activation – KaTosha O'Daniel

Nostalgic 90s Social Activation

Publix Super Markets Social Channels

How do you make a Publix favorite feel like a cultural event?

PROJECT OVERVIEW

We had a few tasks to tackle: celebrate the birthday of the Publix sub sandwich and activate Publix’s social media channels around the occasion.

The challenge was figuring out how to celebrate a familiar Publix favorite in a way that felt fresh, engaging, and worthy of the milestone. We needed to develop a story that could bring the birthday to life across multiple social channels while giving customers a reason to join in the celebration.

The result was a social storytelling opportunity built around a product customers already knew and loved, giving the Publix sub a moment in the spotlight across the brand’s digital channels.

DESIGN CHALLENGE

The challenge was to find the story behind the Publix sub’s birthday and build a celebration around what customers already loved about the brand. That meant digging through old photos and archival material, identifying the moments and details that would resonate with Publix audiences, and creating a visual mark to give the celebration its own identity.

We knew throwback content resonated with the Publix audience, so nostalgia became an important part of the creative direction. The goal was to use the brand’s history to create something that felt familiar and celebratory while giving the birthday campaign a fresh, social-friendly personality.

MY ROLE

CREATING THE STORY & EXPERIENCE

Story Development: Led the social activation story from initial “As If” brainstorming through concept development, shaping the narrative and creative direction for the celebration.

Creative Direction: Established the creative direction across the campaign, creating a cohesive look, feel, and voice across digital and physical touchpoints.

GIFs & Stickers: Developed concepts for the campaign’s GIFs and stickers, creating social-first content that extended the celebration across Publix’s digital channels.

Naming: Named the overall campaign and collaborated with Social Media leadership to develop and finalize hashtags.

Experiential Activation: Helped extend the celebration beyond social media and into Publix stores, creating opportunities for customers to participate in the birthday celebration and win branded T-shirts and merchandise.

RESULTS & IMPACT

Created one of the highest-performing campaigns in Publix’s history, using consumer insights to build an activation around what audiences already loved—nostalgia, throwbacks, and the Publix sub.

Extended the celebration beyond social media into Publix stores, connecting digital engagement with in-store experiences, branded merchandise, and giveaways.

Built a narrative-driven campaign that connected social content, customer participation, and physical experiences into one cohesive celebration.

GIFs & Stickers