5 Marketing Trends: Week of August 10, 2026
The marketing week of August 10, 2026 is stacked with moves that change where small businesses actually get found. Disney handed TikTok creators the keys to Marvel and Star Wars. New research says three out of four people think the marketing they get is junk. AI shopping agents are picking products for buyers, and they do not care about your logo. Google's AI answers keep swallowing clicks with a likely core update on deck. And Pinterest just reminded everyone that holiday shopping starts in September.
If you run a business and you are trying to figure out where your next customer comes from, this is the week to pay attention. Here are the five trends and what to do about each one.
Quick answer
The top marketing trends for the week of August 10, 2026 are the Disney and TikTok creator licensing deal, new Optimizely research showing 75% of people find marketing irrelevant, the fast rise of agentic commerce and AI shopping agents, Google AI Overviews continuing to cut organic clicks ahead of a likely core update, and Pinterest confirming that holiday content should start in September. The common thread is simple. Relevance, structure, and getting picked by machines now matter more than reach alone.
What you will learn this week
This week's trends
01Disney Hands TikTok Creators Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars
On August 5, Disney and TikTok announced a global content deal that lets creators build videos using licensed characters and scenes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and FX. Those videos will run on TikTok and inside a new vertical feed on Disney+ called Verts. There is also a Disney Creator Ambassador Program with rewards and visibility for creators who opt in. This is the first time TikTok videos have ever streamed somewhere other than TikTok.
Big brands get the headlines. But here is the part that matters for a small business. TikTok says people shared millions of film and TV posts a day last year, and roughly half of surveyed viewers watched something after seeing it there. Fan-style, low-polish creator content moves people. You do not need a Marvel license to use that lesson. You need a real person, a phone, and something worth saying. Read more on our social strategy and planning page.
- Licensed IP is now a sanctioned creative tool on TikTok, not a legal gray zone
- Short-form creator video keeps proving it beats polished ads for reach
- Small brands win with authenticity and consistency, not production budget
- Own your creator relationships instead of renting reach through ads alone
0275% of People Say Your Marketing Is Irrelevant
New Optimizely research surveyed 1,000 consumers and 100 marketers, and the numbers sting. 75% of people said the marketing they get is irrelevant. 69% get duplicate messages from the same brands. 61% feel buried by the sheer volume. On the other side, 60% of marketers admitted they launch campaigns without the time or data to do it right, and 66% said juggling too many tools just creates busywork.
Optimizely's marketing lead put it plainly. AI was supposed to fix relevance. So far it has mostly helped people make more of the same. And that is the opening for a small business. You are not blasting a million strangers. You actually know your customers by name. Use that. Segment your list, slow down, and send fewer messages that mean something. Quality over volume is not a slogan here, it is a competitive edge. See how we approach this on our content development strategy page.
- Relevance beats reach, and most brands are failing on relevance
- Sending more messages without better data makes the problem worse
- First-party data and real segmentation are how you sound personal
- Small businesses have a built-in advantage: they know their people
03AI Shopping Agents Are Picking Products, Not Reading Ads
Agentic commerce is the part of AI that should have your attention. Braze research projects that consumer use of AI shopping agents will jump from 19% to 46% by the end of 2026. These agents research, compare, and in some cases buy on a person's behalf. Here is the kicker. They do not choose based on your brand name or your ad spend. They choose based on structured data: clean product feeds, accurate pricing, clear attributes, and the kind of authority signals that generative engines trust.
That is Generative Engine Optimization, and it is exactly why it matters right now. If your business details, services, and products are not written in a way machines can read and trust, the agent skips you and recommends someone else. The good news? This actually levels the field. A small business with clean, well-structured information can get picked over a big brand with a messy site. Learn the mechanics on our complete guide to GEO, then see how we handle it on the GEO services page.
- AI agents pick based on structured data, not brand recognition or ads
- Clean product feeds and accurate details decide if you get surfaced
- GEO is now a sales channel, not a nice-to-have
- Structure and clarity give small businesses a real shot against big spenders
04Google AI Overviews Keep Eating Clicks, and an Update Looms
Google AI Overviews now show up on close to half of all searches, and click-through rates drop hard when they appear, by as much as 34% to 61% depending on the query. Pew data has pegged the click rate at roughly 8% when an AI summary sits at the top, compared to about 15% without one. Your rankings can hold steady while your traffic quietly bleeds out.
And there is a timing angle. Both of Google's confirmed 2026 core updates landed early in the year, which means a broad update in the late-summer window would fit the pattern. So this is the quiet stretch before the next shake. Use it. Fix your thin pages, clean up duplicate content, and tighten your best articles now, before an update decides for you. Structure each page to answer one clear question near the top so you have a shot at being cited even when nobody clicks. More on this in last week's trends and our guide on how to get cited in AI search.
- AI Overviews appear on roughly half of searches and cut clicks sharply
- Steady rankings can still mean falling traffic and fewer leads
- A late-summer core update fits Google's 2026 pattern, so prepare now
- Clean up thin and duplicate pages before the next update hits
05Pinterest Says Holiday Season Starts in September
Pinterest told marketers this week that its users start planning festive and holiday activities as early as September, and that a longer promotional window helps brands figure out what actually works before the rush. The platform also added 9 million monthly active users in its latest count. Pinterest is a planning engine. People go there to save ideas for something they will buy later.
For a small business, this is a gift. You do not have to fight for holiday attention in the November crush. Start seeding seasonal content in September, test which ideas get saved, and lean into the winners while your competitors are still asleep. Early and steady beats loud and late. If seasonal planning feels like a scramble every year, our small business visibility guide is a good place to start.
- Pinterest users start holiday planning in September, not November
- A longer runway lets you test seasonal content before it counts
- Pinterest rewards planning-stage intent, so publish early
- Getting in first beats spending big during the December pile-up
Frequently asked questions
The five biggest are the Disney and TikTok creator licensing deal, Optimizely research showing 75% of people find marketing irrelevant, the rise of agentic commerce and AI shopping agents, Google AI Overviews cutting organic clicks ahead of a likely core update, and Pinterest confirming that holiday content should start in September.
Agentic commerce is when an AI agent researches, compares, and buys products for a person with little human input. It matters because agents choose based on structured data and clear information, not ad budgets. A small business with clean product details and strong authority signals can get picked over a much larger competitor.
Google AI Overviews are answering more questions right on the results page, so people never click through. You can hold your ranking and still lose clicks and leads. The fix is to structure content for citation, answer questions clearly near the top, and clean up thin pages before the next core update.
Send fewer, smarter messages. Use the first-party data you already have, segment your audience by real behavior, and write like you know the person, because you probably do. Volume without relevance is what makes people tune out, and that is where most brands are losing right now.
Yes. Pinterest reports that users begin holiday planning as early as September, and a longer window gives you time to test what resonates. Start seeding seasonal content early, watch what gets saved and shared, and scale the winners before the December rush drives up competition and cost.
The one habit that ties it all together
Look at all five trends and they point the same direction. Disney is betting on real creators over polished ads. People are begging for relevance over volume. AI agents reward clean structure over brand noise. Google rewards clear answers over keyword stuffing. Pinterest rewards early planning over last-minute panic.
The habit underneath all of it is intention. Know who you are talking to, say something worth their time, and structure it so both people and machines can find it. That is not a trend. That is just good marketing, and it happens to be exactly what small businesses can do better than anyone. So pick one of these this week and act on it. Then do the next one.
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Bernie Fussenegger is the owner and Chief Cheese of Strategy and Engagement at B2The7, a Louisville digital marketing consultancy that helps small businesses get found on Google and inside AI search. He has built marketing programs for companies including Papa John's and Confluent Health, and now brings that enterprise-level thinking to businesses at a scale that actually fits them.
