PAW Patrol to the rescue!: Q&A with Paramount Consumer Products & Experiences
As the tenth season of PAW Patrol was released in March, Toy World's Caroline Tonks sat down with Simta Sawhney, senior director Licensing UK & Ireland, South Africa, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, Paramount Consumer Products & Experiences, to talk about this major milestone and how Paramount aims to revitalise the franchise as part of its wider pre-school portfolio.
Season 10 of Paw Patrol has recently been released on Paramount+. How does this new season build on the property in terms of themes, audience engagement and new opportunities for licensors?
We are bringing new, action-packed content to consumers and constantly reinvigorating the franchise. Season 10 focuses on the core of Paw Patrol and what the brand is known for. We're expanding on that world with Adventure Bay, which will have a lot more teamwork, adventure, excitement and storytelling. This goes hand in hand with upgraded animation, offering something new and fresh for pre-schoolers.
We're going to be complementing the all-year-round content with two new thematic launches. We know how important themes are, especially from a consumer products point of view, to keep the brand fresh and offer additional opportunities to licensees. For spring/ summer, we're introducing a Rescue theme, and for autumn/winter, there's Fire Rescue. Both are core to the DNA of Paw Patrol, with vehicle play, teamwork and the exciting action the pups are known for.
We also have new content launching on YouTube and even more content to come at the back end of the year. This will be a great opportunity for all our licence partners to drive incremental business and infuse newness into their product lines. We've revealed refreshed branding this year across all product packaging, which, combined with the new content, will reinvigorate the franchise for the consumer.
A tenth season is a major milestone. What do you attribute to Paw Patrol's ongoing success within the pre-school category?
We've kicked off 2025 with some great momentum, largely off the back of an above-the-line campaign that we ran on Nick Jr. in Q4 of last year. Following that campaign, we saw an increase in sales across all product categories, whether in toys and games or apparel, food and beverage. We've continued that growth trajectory into 2025. In February, the Paw Patrol brand was actually outperforming the overall infant/ pre-school category, which was very exciting.
We continue to make sure that the consumer is at the heart of everything we do, whether that's refreshing product in line with our latest trends or delivering experiences to pre-schoolers. This year, alongside Paw Patrol Live, which is touring later this year with The Great Pirate Adventure, we have more new, on-the-ground initiatives that will be announced shortly.
We know content is king, and we're certainly not lacking in that. Both Paw Patrol and Rubble & Crew have been renewed for another two seasons, and off the back of the success of the last two theatrical releases, we're excited to have a third global theatrical release coming out in summer 2026, which is Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie.
Theatricals have become such an integral part of the Paw Patrol universe, and we've achieved amazing success, not only at the box office, but at resale too. The Dino theme isn't new to Paw Patrol - a few years ago it was one of the more successful themes we've ever had. Now we're bringing it back with new storytelling, and more opportunities for our partners to develop exciting and innovative product.
Can you tell us what the new global campaign for Paw Patrol entails?
Paw Patrol to the Rescue is our brand-new, parent targeted campaign that comes out this spring, and is the first time we've run a truly global campaign. We aim to partner with parents and empower them through every milestone of their parenting journeys - helping them with the nurturing development of their toddlers and focusing on areas like teamwork, problem solving and developing their imagination.
We're positioning the brand to be more than just kids' favourite TV show; we want it to be a valuable part of the parenting journey. We're going to be highlighting the ways that Paw Patrol can help solve the problems that parents care about the most. Paw Patrol will come to the rescue in many situations, like potty training, bedtime and breakfast time. For example, establishing a good bedtime routine is important for any parent, and Paw Patrol aims to be that solution for them. Anything from a Paw Patrol toothbrush and toothpaste, to make brushing teeth more fun, to having Paw Patrol bedsheets, duvet covers and PJs for bedtime, will give kids everything they need to make learning and routines a fun experience.
Our partners develop product to support these key milestones, and work with us on how we can activate that at retail. As part of the campaign, there will be an always-on ecosystem to support the brand throughout the year, across linear, YouTube, social media and retail. We're also working on a number of new brand partnerships that will be announced shortly to support the campaign further.
This is an important next step for the brand. It's the first time we're running a parent targeted campaign, and we're encouraging our partners to come on board so we can execute this at retail and work on the joint planning together.
What else is happening in Paramount's pre-school sector?
Although there is a major focus on Paw Patrol, Paramount has always been known as a home for pre- school, and we're bringing plenty more that's new and different this summer. Dora launched in April 2024 on Paramount+ globally, as well as on Milkshake! in the UK, and the content is performing really well. We're launching product into the market from May this year onwards, with a targeted approach across categories. We're working in conjunction with Spin Master as our toy partner and we have a number of other category leading partners across all different lines of business.
In additional news, Nickelodeon has optioned several book and graphic novel titles for development, including: Ham Helsing by Rich Moyer, Desmond Cole: Ghost Patrol by Andres Miedoso, Red Panda & Moon Bear by Jarod Rosello, Kindness Rules! by Eunice Moyle and Sabrina Moyle, and Slime by David Walliams.
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Additional sources: Licensing.biz, Night Lights Denver.
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