• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 28, 2008

While the idea that interactive games or videos increase the time consumers spend with brand on Web sites is not new, Meebo has a few treats and tricks planned to entice Meeboers to stay and play with its Web messaging tool just a little longer.

This week, Meebo goes live with an interactive quiz widget from Los Altos Hills, Calif.-based Kwanzoo, which plans to offer the widget to Web site and blog publishers either as an ad-supported or subscription-based tool.

Meebo's strategy aims to increase the time users spend with ads like Microsoft, Samsung, Lucas Arts, Universal Pictures and others. The company has been looking into interactive ads, long-form video, quizzes and polls to engage users.

The average user spends about two hours on Meebo per login. The community shares about 75 million shared links per month, which equates to about 5 billion conversions monthly, according to Stephanie Quay, director of business development at Meebo, a Mountain View, Calif.-based company offering a communications tool for live chat across the Web.

It may seem like a simple add-on to Meebo's Web messaging communications service, but challenges exist. Troubling economic times are not the safest time to try something new and different, because there are no guarantees that it will boost time spent with brands--but Quay believes Kwanzoo's quiz widget will engage users similar to the way videos do. "We think they'll have more fun," she said. "Any time you provide users with something interactive it typically increases their time spent on the site or with tools."

Positive feedback from a six-week test and an entrepreneurial attitude to try something new led Quay to sign an annual contract with Kwanzoo. The widget will serve up questions around celebrity, sports and TV/film.

Aside from Meebo, Glam Media and WhatTheyPlay have also signed on for service. The widget gives publishers access to more 50,000 quiz questions, enabling them to sell advertisers new inventory offerings that Kwanzoo founder and CEO Mani Iyer suggests produce click-through rates of up to ten times higher than display advertisements.

Iyer said many publishers spend hours trying to invent ways to engage visitors and draw attention to ads running on their site. "Web sites typically support between 10% and 30% of display ad inventory--mostly remnant, which has a low CPM rate and click through," he said. "In addition to the interactive ad format, publishers can display sponsor names on the widget."

The bank of content serves up contextual quizzes on any of the subjects like movies, TV shows, celebrities, video games, sports and music. Tagged content targets specific topics like "Tom Cruise," "MI-2," "John Woo," "Star Trek." Quiz content also includes "Election '08," "Halloween Movies," and "Quiz of the Day." The widget integrates with a variety of ad networks, publishers' choice, from displays to 10-second videos. Bloggers can also find a free, ad-supported version of the service.