Concord vs Smartly

Concord Appoints Scibids Co-Founder Rémi Lemonnier as Advisor

Concord, a provider of advertising technology solutions, has appointed Rémi Lemonnier, co-founder of Scibids, as an advisor. Lemonnier brings extensive experience in AI-driven media buying and programmatic advertising, having previously led Scibids, a company known for its AI-powered bidding technology. In his new role, Lemonnier will provide strategic guidance to Concord as it navigates the evolving advertising landscape. This appointment underscores Concord's commitment to leveraging expert insights to enhance its offerings and drive growth in the competitive adtech market.

• Concord has appointed Rémi Lemonnier, co-founder of Scibids, as an advisor.
• Rémi Lemonnier previously led Scibids, a company specializing in AI-driven bidding technology.
• The appointment aims to provide strategic guidance to Concord in the adtech sector.

Concord Enhances AI Media Buying with Brand Control Features

On September 17, 2026, Concord announced new capabilities for its agentic AI-powered programmatic advertising platform, designed to give brands more control over AI-driven media buying. The platform combines historical campaign intelligence with deterministic operating rules, allowing advertisers to encode budgets, naming conventions, targeting, brand safety standards, approvals, and media playbooks. This ensures consistent campaign execution across teams, markets, and agencies. Concord's AI learns from past campaigns to improve future ones, while brands retain supervision through their own rules and approvals. The goal is to make media buying smarter without sacrificing control, enhancing operational efficiency and brand safety.

• Concord announced new capabilities on September 17, 2026.
• The platform integrates historical campaign intelligence with deterministic operating rules.
• Advertisers can encode budgets, targeting, brand safety, and approvals into execution.

Smartly Launches Intelligence Pro to Connect Campaign Planning, Performance and Incrementality

Smartly has announced the launch of Intelligence Pro, a new product that connects campaign planning, performance, and incrementality.

UK's The Times Tests Macro Payments for Standalone Content

The Times of London is preparing to test 'macro payments,' a new model allowing readers to purchase specific high-value content packages, such as annual guides, without a full subscription. Director of subscriptions Abs Ahmed outlined the strategy at a Digiday event, emphasizing that this approach targets occasional readers who are not ready to commit to a subscription. The initiative is expected to launch in the next few months, initially in the UK. The Times has identified a significant audience interested in flexible access, with over three-quarters of occasional readers showing appeal. The publisher also reports success with AI tools, including synthetic audiences for research, AI decisioning for personalized messaging, and Smartly for performance marketing, which cut acquisition costs by over 55%. The move comes as the publisher faces declining social and search referrals and increasing bot traffic.

• The Times of London plans to test 'macro payments' for standalone content packages.
• Testing is due to start within the next few months, initially in the UK.
• Over three quarters of occasional readers found flexible access appealing.

Smartly Appoints Kelly Uphoff as Chief Technology Officer

Smartly has appointed Kelly Uphoff as Chief Technology Officer, as announced in the newsroom on October 8, 2026.