Bright Ideas

What clever marketing methods are entrepreneurs using to differentiate themselves? This new column will uncover a few each month to inspire your own creative efforts.

SEEN: A local pizzeria adds to its family appeal by putting Trivial Pursuit Cards on every table. (OK, who played TV's Doogie Howser, M.D.?)

HEARD: From a door-to-door salesman, to overcome a knee-jerk rejection: "Sir, before you slam the door on me and go back to watching that Seinfeld rerun . . . ."

SEEN: A kitchen designer sends out a "garage gourmet" survival basket of goodies on the stressful demolition day of a client's remodeling project.

SEEN: A hot teen boutique takes a bunch of tops off hangers and slings them onto hooks, neatly messy, like a kid's closet--the better to make it feel like home.

Jerry Fisher is Entrepreneur's "Ad Wisdom" columnist.