New client: LifePhoto

Method Engine has been engaged by LifePhoto, an innovative up-and-coming player in the online photo sharing and finishing space. Look for news of a fresh new brand this fall.

Method Engine in Second Life

From our press release –

Method Engine, a seven-year-old boutique interactive agency known for its cutting-edge web solutions for clients, will soon become the first Chicago-based agency to open a “virtual office” in Second Life.

Second Life, an online “virtual world,” is not a game, but rather a networked 3D environment in which users create their own “avatar,” and are entirely free to explore, spend money and even buy property in a free-market economy that is anything but virtual.

A new Gartner report has projected that by 2008, 80% of current Internet users will be engaged in virtual worlds like Second Life, suggesting that this is more than a passing trend. Method Engine joins the ranks of other notable companies launching a brand “in-world,” among them fellow Chicago companies Sears and IBM.

Stacey Williams, the company’s Creative Director and lead strategist on virtual worlds, sums it up: "Creating a presence in Second Life is important because it offers us an opportunity to research a new interactive marketing platform for our clients."

The Method Engine office is designed to act as a kind of research facility for of Second Life residents, also called avatars. With a conference room, common areas for informal meetings, and a new “skydeck” under development for post-research-session avatar parties, Method Engine has big plans in mind. "The idea is to locate Second Life enthusiasts who fit the demographics our clients are targeting, and invite them to participate in research studies ‘in-world,’ right there in the Second Life environment,” Williams adds. “Making it usable, interactive and fun will be success factors.”

Method Engine plans to launch the virtual office in fall of 2007.

About Method Engine:
Method Engine is an interactive agency that enables companies to more effectively connect with their audiences through web sites, mobile campaigns, virtual worlds and other digital media. Method Engine LLC was established in 2000 and is based in Chicago.