Brands
Cheetah Ad Div rebranded, AppLock impressions increase
MUMBAI: Cheetah Mobile Inc., one of the leading mobile utility and content app developers, has rebranded its ad business in India as Cheetah Ads, with a renewed focus on bringing vertical video ads to the market. Cheetah Mobile also revealed that impressions of Cheetah Mobile’s popular AppLock feature have reached 200 million per day in India, making it one of the most successful markets for the product.
AppLock safeguards users’ privacy by creating password-protected lock screens for individual apps. The feature is most frequently used to unlock social apps where people share personal data and require the utmost privacy.
A recent report produced by Cheetah Lab titled “Using Utility Apps to Realize the Value of Brand Ads on Social Apps” shows that the top five countries using AppLock are the United States, India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia, with India ranked 2nd. A closer look shows that among the top 10 most frequently locked apps, the top two are social apps.
AppLock offers brands a “pre-social moment,” the opportunity to engage with a customer before diving into a social app. AppLock supports customizable video, GIF and interactive ad formats with Cheetah Mobile’s industry-leading big data and targeting capabilities. It also allows brands to showcase 9 different product images on the lock screen. Through AppLock, brands can reach their best audiences without advertising within the social apps themselves.
Cheetah Ads places beautiful, full-screen vertical video ads in a wide range of user contexts – from pre-social moments like AppLock, where brands can reach users before they unlock their favorite social apps; to in-social activity within popular influencer-powered apps like musical.ly and Live.me; to personalized content moments in News Republic; and utility moments in apps like Clean Master and Battery Doctor.
Formerly known as Cheetah Ad Platform, Cheetah Mobile’s ad business has operated in India since launching there in September 2015.
Speaking at ad:tech 2017, Cheetah Mobiles GM – international ad sales Morden Chen said, “Cheetah Ads India will make the advertising experience smarter and better for users and brand advertisers. As Cheetah Mobile advances its content+utility app strategy, Cheetah Ads will focus on bringing vertical video ads to every kind of mobile moment.”
“We are thrilled with the success of AppLock in India. The feature’s 200 million daily impressions have contributed to making Cheetah Ads one of the top mobile advertising players in the country. With its huge mobile user base and fast-growing marketplace, India is a key country for us, and we will continue innovating to meet the evolving needs of the growing mobile users,” Chen added.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
