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.

Mickey Mouse is old - let's celebrate

If you haven't heard, Mickey Mouse is turning 90! That is truly a big milestone, and with Disney being such a household brand for so many people and families, it's worth taking a moment to reflect and celebrate.

To do so, Disney created an immersive pop-up exhibit in NYC that takes consumers back in time to where it all started in 1928 with Steamboat Willie, through several art installations by famouse (yes, typo intended) artists depicting Mickey in all his glory. And all the rooms are visually engaging and offer great back-drops for social share-worthy photos. It's a nice walk down memory lane for longterm fans, as well as helping to educate youngsters on the origins of the iconic figure and company (and take for granted how far cartoons have come in general).

One can only wait to see what they do for Mickey's 100th birthday.

Visualizing the distance of texting while driving

Perspective is everything. Countless campaigns have talked about how dangerous texting and driving is, and in various ways. The organization Parents of Road Victims in the Belgium created a campaign called "Blind Meters" that uses technology to actualize the distance it takes someone to text simple, short phrases that people assume they can get out quickly without harm, but in reality they are still 'driving blind,' to get them to rethink and stop texting while driving.

At BlindMeters.com, you can type in a short phrase like "Be home soon," and it will stretch out in a special font to show just how far and long the distance actually is on the road to text it, based on average speeds driven there. Social media influencers were also leveraged to get behind the wheel and drive the distances it takes to type certain phrases.

Foolproof and kid-proof insurance

Sometimes insurance can be daunting to really dive into and understand all the policy features and technicalities. Digit Insurance in India made some informational booklets that were straight forward to show how simple their policies are, and they put them to the test. They had several groups of different aged kids read the booklets and then be quizzed on the content.

A the end of the video, their point is that the information is simple and straight forward enough for 15 year olds to understand, so give it a shot.

Surprise beer deliveries from a pro

Miller Lite put retired football players to work, and surprised unsuspecting football fans with beer deliveries from Jason Witten.

They had some diehard fans set up to view a game and be filmed, but the visit from Witten was totally unsuspected. He hung out, pet their dogs, and signed some cans for them.

Surprise and delights, and access to celebrities and athletes, is always a nice way to endear fans to a brand.

Philly (Philly) gets a "special" statue from Bud Light

And in another amazing extension of its Dilly Dilly campaign (also see this), Bud Light has bestowed Philadelphia with a statue featuring the Eagles' QB Nick Foles and coach Doug Pederson making the fateful decision to run the Philly Special play (in which Foles caught a touchdown pass, showing up Tom Brady's previous fumble). In that moment, Foles asks "You want Philly Philly?"

The statue is a smart move on Bud Light's part and a great homage to the team and city that especially glommed on to its Dilly Dilly campaign, and a great way to appeal to such a 'passionate' fanbase. A nice gift as the Eagles take the field in the first game of this season tonight.

Well done, Bud Light.

WeWork wants to (we)market startups

WeWork is a great business model that offers shared, cost efficient work space to freelancers, small businesses and start-ups. They're making a move to offer content marketing services to those startups who are too busy building their brand and business on the back-end to worry about front-end marketing or can't yet hire someone dedicated to that role.

It's a smart evolution for WeWork to expand its business to augment its professional tenants experiences with the company.

New Balance jumps on the 90s nostalgia train

Come on ride the train - and ride it! New Balance is launching its newest sneaker, the X-90, by celebrating the '90s. As part of the launch, they partnered with Foot Locker to create an experiential pop-up shop that throws consumers back in time with various rooms decked with items from the era. They invited '90s celebrities like Ben Savage and Jaleel White to attend the launch party (I wonder if Jaleel came as Steve or Stephan?). The sneakers themselves also have elements that are reminiscent of shoes from that time as well.

See a video of the pop-up here.

HP is challenging American family stereotypes

Grab a box of tissues (if you're a big sap like myself), and watch this latest video from HP.

They are the latest brand to take on debated societal topics. With this video, the brand is trying to "reinvent mindsets" by challenging what a typical American family actually looks like. Based on stats, it's much more diverse than people think.

It is a highly relevant and timely way to showcase how HP itself is constantly reinventing itself, technology and looking at things in new ways.

Just scan it with the Nike app

New school year, new kicks as they always say. And Nike wants to be the shoe of choice by easing some pain points of that shopping experience during this busy times.

At select locations, consumers can use the Nike app to scan bar codes, select their preferred color and size and and submit the order to have them ready to try on in a few minutes. No flagging down busy store associates, or waiting longer for them to go back and find the right ones - only to find out they don't even have them in stock.

Who created this activation - Statler and Waldorf?

When you think of senior citizens in balcony seats, you think of these guys. But now in Ghent, Belgium, one festival organization is trying to pair young music fans with senior citizens to enjoy a show together.

An upcoming Bjork concert will take place in St. Peter's square, and surrounding it is a retirement home where older citizens live, many who don't receive a lot of visitors.

The Jazz Festival worked with creative agency Humming and the facility to offer attendees the chance to purchase balcony seats in the tenants' homes so they can not only get a great view but also connect with people who may potentially be lonely and otherwise would be isolated from the crowd in the square below.

The cost of the seats do double good, though because the proceeds will go to an organization that connects homeless people with hotels that have rooms they weren't able to fill. Is your heart just bursting right now??

Watch a video promoting the activation here.