Googly-eyed robots, aisle 9

The owner of Giant grocery stores is teaming up with a company called Badger Technologies to launch robots in 172 of its mid-Atlantic stores.

At 6'3", it's a rather tall robot, unlike small roombas that scoot around partially undetected. It's end result helps consumers in some way, by making sure products are stocked on shelves and spills get cleaned up quicker, but it also benefits store operations and brands by checking for things like planogram compliance and price integrity.

To make the robot more appealing to consumers as it makes its rounds, checking shelves, the company has placed LARGE GOOGLY EYES on it. And apparently consumers are eating it up and taking selfies with it.

See a video of Marty the Robot in action here.

Arby's-themed subscription boxes

Awareness is often a key, and important, marketing objective for brands to get consumers started on the path to purchase. However, sometimes not enough effort is placed on, or invested in, their true brand loyalists.

Take Arby's, who created a 6-month monthly subscription box, that doesn't contain food, but rather sandwich and Arby's themed merchandise for their fans. The limited quantity being offered apparently sold out in an hour (who knows exactly HOW many enthusiasts they were planning on to sign up). Of course, the brand is banking on generating some awareness by getting people to talk about this ridiculous subscription box, but it's still a nice offering to let fans revel in their love of all things sandwich meats.

Emotional support (fried) chicken

Emotional support animals run the gammet these days, and more and more people are trying to bring them on planes, from peacocks to fish.

Fast food chain Popeyes created a limited edition carrier, served at the Philadelphia airport, for passengers to take on board as their "emotional support chicken." It's a TSA-approved way for consumers to get comfort (food) on their flights and ease the pain of holiday travel. The move also is a smart and playful way to take part of the emotional support trend.

Hoo-whaaat?!? Lil Jon + Kool-Aid collab

It seems that every year, more and more artists release their own covers and versions of holiday songs. Probably for good reason - consumers love revamps of the classics and new hits to keep their holiday playlists fresh.

So why shouldn't brands get in on this holiday trend? Enter Kool-Aid and Lil Jon, who just released a krazy Christmas track, complete with a music video, that consumers will either love or hate. Get on Spotify now and add it to your playlist.

And the partnership is a no brainer - the Kool-Aid Man and Lil Jon are famous for their "yeahs" after all.

Dove Men+Care is bringing Dads+Kids together

Whether we realize it or not, haircuts are a big part of the holiday season for many. Whether it's for holiday parties or family, it's nice to take a moment for yourself and freshen up your look.

Dove Men+Care is building on that and transforming it into a way for Dads and their kids to spend some time together during the busy holiday season. As part of this #HolidayShear campaign, they have partnered with Bishops Cuts/Color, a national chain, to give free washes and haircuts to Dads and their kids, and creating interactive experiences for them to connect over while they wait.

Look out Super Bowl, Bud Light's coming to town

The Super Bowl isn't just about the football - it's also about the ads, and of course the halftime show. Bud Light is creating its own brand experience centered around music and hosting an entire music fest the weekend leading up to the big game in Atlanta, where its being hosted. And they are getting pretty big names to participate.

It's an interesting way to take a part of the game fans love and blowing it out, and making the entire weekend a full experience for residents of the city and people traveling there for the game.

You can view more details about the music fest here.

Discover unknown places first, with Lufthansa

Travel companies have used unique ways in the past to encourage consumers to travel (and hopefully use their services to do so). Lufthansa create an experiential photography exhibit to show people photographs of truly unique places they've never seen before - but then revealed the reason why that is, is because they don't actually exist. Not in the way they were depicted in the photographs, at least.

The point was that everyone sees the world differently, so anywhere you travel to, you'll be seeing that place first - from your unique perspective. Even if it's been visited and traveled by other people, it's an unknown place to you, and there's plenty of places to discover.

View a video of the stunt here.

Brrrrrr-inging trial to outerwear

Luxury outerwear brand Canada Goose has really grown in popularity, and if you've been intrigued by how warm the coats look and googled it or asked someone who owns one, you know they cost more than your average Patagonia or North Face down coat (sometimes 3x+ as much).

The company knows they need to put their own money where their mouth is to convince consumers to step up and spend the extra money on their coats, and is now rolling out arctic rooms in their stores so people can try the coats on in temperatures as low as -13 degrees. Brrrrrr-illiant!

Digitally connected cafes offer virtual meals

Let's throw another shrimp on the bah-bee, and pour another pint o'Guiness for a meal with loved ones overseas!

Terrible cliches aside, Samsung is creating pop-up restaurants that allow people in Dublin to virtually enjoy a meal with an expat loved one in Sydney, Australia, based on the high volume of Irish citizens that move to the land down under.

The technology let's them connect for a nice meal out together, and apparently it is in fact a need and interest for many people - the reservations at the restaurants quickly booked up for 3-month straight activation.

Could this be an offering actual restaurants take on over time?

Sausage-scented wrapping paper, by Jimmy Dean

Aaaaahhh...there's nothing quite like the smell of savory sausage on Christmas morning, emanating from your....wrapping paper. Yes, wrapping paper - not your kitchen.

For sausage enthusiasts, Jimmy Dean is giving away free branded items in exchange for pictures of consumers' favorite recipes and dishes featuring JD's sausage. Other items include a glass sausage ornament, an apron with Jimmy Dean on it, and Jimmy Dean's Christmas album. But the wrapping paper takes the cake, though, in terms of offering a full sensory experience and fun kitsch to fans of the brand, spicing up their Christmas traditions. 

You can check out the gift exchange site here.