One of my favourite things about being a freelance writer is all the networking I do, as it means I meet a lot of fascinating professionals. One of the most intriguing ones I met recently was Stephanie Michelle Scott, owner of Wildfire Effect, a company devoted to marketing clients through innovative storytelling techniques.

As anyone who knows me knows, I love stories and the focus of my business is helping my clients tell their stories in the best way to engage their potential customers. Thus, I find Stephanie’s work very compelling, especially her use of ARGs (alternative reality games), innovative games that are played-out in the “real world” to spread buzz about her clients, their services, and their events. For example, hiding around the city various clues related to an upcoming event, then using a viral campaign to encourage people to hunt for all the clues so that they’ll be awarded with a prize at the event. It’s a great way to engage your clients, getting them involved in your brand identity while having fun in the process.

That’s only one of the many techniques Stephanie offers. Stop by her website and take a look at everything else she provides. Though she and I have not worked on the same project yet, our philosophies towards marketing our clients’ companies are so in sync that it’s only a matter of time before we end-up working together.