“If we can get through this year, we can pretty much get through anything” - Licensing Source recently chatted to Venetia Davie, Vice President (VP) UK & Ireland at ViacomCBS Consumer Products, about the opportunities in the preschool sector going forward.
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| PAW Patrol remains the backbone of ViacomCBS' preschool business. |
Firstly, which preschool brands are you currently focusing on? Can you run through how the licensing programmes for each are shaping up?
PAW Patrol is the back-bone of our preschool business and a brand that commands a lot of focus across all areas of our business from channel, live events, to social and consumer products.
This year we’ve signed and launched new partners such as Seabrooks and 8th Wonder and PAW remains top dog as the number one preschool property. This autumn we launched our latest theme Dino Rescue, and for the premiere episode, the show was far and away the number one kids programme in its slot with 165k kids tuning in. Next year will also be big year for the pups with the new thematic PAW Patrol: Moto Pups and the release of the greatly anticipated PAW Patrol the Movie which will be distributed globally by Paramount movies.
Another key priority for us will be the launch of consumer products to support Blue’s Clues & You. We’ve seen great success both on air and across product categories in the US. Based on the show’s initial ratings across Nick Jr. and our digital and SVOD platforms, we have no doubt that our US success can be replicated in the UK next Christmas.
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| Venetia Davie |
Finally, we look forward to expanding the world of Baby Shark. Following the announcement that the animated series Baby Shark’s Big Show will launch next year on Nick Jr. we’re working closely with Pinkfong to extend the world of Baby Shark with many new partners already in place.
Have you seen any major trends emerging over the course of 2020 in the preschool space?
Influencers have been a big thing for us on the preschool front and Ryan’s World has been one of our strongest properties throughout 2020. We have the Nick Jr. show Ryan’s Mystery Playdate. Series three launched in August this year and series 4 has already been greenlit. On the consumer products side, Ryan is a best-selling hit with toys, a video game as well as apps and a magazine which have all proven immensely popular amongst pre-schoolers who identify with Ryan. Next year’s focus for Ryan’s World will include new partners in the FMCG space and a fantastic retail activation around his World Tour theme.
Also, within the preschool space we launched a range of CKN apparel lines exclusively at Character.com to support our latest influencer preschool show Calvin & Kaisons Play Power. The boys will be promoting the apparel line on their YouTube platform which receives well over 27 million UK views per month, up over 58% since the show started airing in the UK.
Outside of the preschool space, we have recently announced a brand-new partnership with social media star and hip-hop artist with ‘That Girl Lay Lay’ to develop original multiplatform programming, music and more. We’re thrilled to be launching her in the UK in 2021.
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| Blue's Clues & You has enjoyed strong success in the US already. |
How healthy do you think the preschool licensed sector is in general? What are some of the key challenges that you think the sector is facing going forward (retail recovery from COVID-19, lack of shelf space, risk averse retail, etc)?
2020 has been a mixed year with clear winners and losers. We’ve seen the toy market strengthen with some significant upsides in licensed sales and categories such as outdoor toys, puzzles and games and building sets but we’ve also seen softening in lower price impulse products and categories such as daywear and accessories. In publishing our licensed workbooks and magazine sales have held up incredibly well given the closure of some non-essential stores.
In terms of recovery I think we’re all hoping those risks taken on inventory for key promoted toy lines pay off. It’s great to see apparel sales start to re-build and this category especially is seeing a nice up-tick in last minute orders and retailers really partnering to maximise open to buy.
Most of all I think we’re looking forward to 2021, while the C word may move back to the B word, I think we all feel, if we can get through this year, we can pretty much get through anything. Let’s see what the next round of Brexit negotiations deliver.
Calvin and Kaison are the latest influencers in the preschool space.
How easy is it for new brands to break through at the moment?
Most of our properties are well known among parents and preschoolers and nostalgia properties are definitely a big part of what we offer, but we do have a few newcomers for 2021 which I believe will make a strong debut.
We’re getting ready to launch Baby Shark products following the launch of Baby Shark’s Big Show on Nickelodeon and I have no doubt that it will be a hit for preschoolers.
Kids and parents have so much choice nowadays especially with the number of platforms available to them to watch content, but through our campaigns and our work with our partners we manage to reach them and introduce them to new characters which they grow attached to. It’s more challenging than with established properties but still possible.
What would you most like to achieve for your preschool brands from the remainder of 2020 and into 2021?
A top ten Christmas toy, lots of happy faces on unwrapping presents, continued ratings growth across all our channels, a blockbuster summer movie moving into 2021 and a Blue’s Clues takeover at retail next year.
From The Toy Book:
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Q&A 2021: VIACOMCBS
Pam Kaufman, president of global consumer products at ViacomCBS, discusses media strategy, company goals, and more in the Toy Book‘s annual State of the Industry Q&A.
Toy Book: With major trade shows canceled or on hold this year, how do you plan to connect with manufacturers and the media?
Pam Kaufman: We have been incredibly intentional about staying in lockstep with our partners and retailers to meet the needs of consumers, especially during the pandemic. Staying in close contact with all of our licensees and retail partners allowed us to adapt creatively and quickly to the changing landscape. We have been rigorous about coming up with innovative ways to exchange ideas and share content.
The team successfully pivoted all events to fully virtual experiences, completing nearly 50 global partner meetings and trade events, in addition to participating virtually in Licensing Expo and the Festival of Licensing. We organized an intimate experience in a new virtual format to introduce our budding social stars, including Nickelodeon’s That Girl Lay Lay and Johnny Orlando for MTV, complete with acoustic performances from them both.
TB: What are your plans and goals for 2021?
PK: With the ViacomCBS merger, we are thrilled that our portfolio has expanded to serve consumers of all ages around the world. This year, we are focused on the debut of the first PAW Patrol theatrical release, expanding the Star Trek universe to the kids’ space with Star Trek: Prodigy, the continued rollout of Blue’s Clues & You!, the premiere of Baby Shark’s Big Show, connecting consumers with one of cable’s most-watched series of 2020 Yellowstone, and premiering the highly anticipated SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off series Kamp Koral. We are gearing up for a strong year with a huge array of new items hitting the market that we know kids and families will love.
TB: How did your department respond to the early challenges presented by the pandemic?
PK: When the pandemic first began, we did not know all the challenges that we and the larger industry would face in the months to come, but we worked diligently with our partners and retailers to ensure we adapted to the changing environment to better meet consumers’ evolving needs. We saw early on that families would be spending more time at home together and that parents would be looking for play solutions to supplement the difficulties of remote learning. Together with our licensees, we developed innovative solutions for kids and families including new puzzles, games, crafts, outdoor toys, hygiene products, and more. We also launched a licensed face mask initiative featuring a variety of ViacomCBS properties and are proud to have donated all ViacomCBS royalties from the program to charities around the world.
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From Licensing Source:
‘At the heart of everything will always be good content’
Informa Markets’ Anna Knight, ViacomCBS’ Mark Kingston, Gary Pope from Kids Industries and WildBrain Spark’s Jon Gisby discuss the evolution of kids’ content in live webinar.
Children may have more ability to view content than ever before, but at the heart will always be strong storytelling which they can build an emotional connection with, whatever the platform.
This was a key view to come out of the first in a new series of live webinars being hosted by Informa Markets and License Global yesterday (18 March).
Led by Anna Knight, vp of Informa Markets’ Licensing Group, Jon Gisby, evp and md at WildBrain Spark, Mark Kingston, svp international consumer products for ViacomCBS and Gary Pope, co-founder of Kids Industries shared their views on how the way children consume content has changed, whether these changes will be here to stay once the pandemic ends and what this ultimately means for consumer products during the hour-long webinar, entitled Changing the channel: the evolution of kids content.
Gary Pope explained that the current generation of kids are the most vocal generation seen to date and feel more empowered than ever. “They are the most activist and brands have been responding to this in interesting ways,” he noted. “I’d almost suggest that media is now more participated in than consumed in a passive way. This started with unboxers and YouTube, then there was Minecraft and Twitch, and now we have Anything World [a platform that allows children to play with any object they can imagine using the power of their voice]… I think in the next 18 months, we will see a markedly different landscape for children’s media consumption.”
"In some ways childhood hasn't changed, but in some it's the most complicated time to be a child" said Gary Pope, co-founder of Kids Industries.
WildBrain Spark’s Jon Gisby suggested that, this time last year, plenty of kids were consuming content in the same way as now.
“The balance of linear, streaming and AVOD platfroms… that eco system has been there for the best part of ten years off and on,” he said. “What’s shifted is the relative balance and importance of the platforms. There has been an enormous increase in viewing on YouTube, for example.
“There’s also been a shift in device – kids increasingly have access to their own device, which means they are in control of the content. Equally, there has been a shift of viewing from devices back to the big screen and connected TVs. The growth was already there, but has been massively accelerated. My personal theory is that people had time to figure out how the kit worked!”
Jon continued: “That in turn, turns into co-viewing – premium content on the big screen with the family… that’s called TV and has always been there. Nothing ever dies, it just takes a new shape.”
Children are leading indicators when it comes to media consumption, Jon added: “We’ve grown up where we link a device to a particular piece of content and I don’t think they make that distinction. I think that will increasingly be the case – it’s that 360 view of a brand.”
Content needs to build an emotional connection with viewers, so it can be taken from the screen to physical products, said ViacomCBS' Mark Kingston.
Asked how the more ‘traditional’ ways of viewing fit into the new landscape, ViacomCBS’s Mark Kingston asserted that “at the heart of everything will always be content”.
“There’s never been a better time to be a content creator; there are so many opportunities to get content out there,” he commented. “Traditional platforms will probably become stronger – cinematic and live experiences will become bolder. We’re a social species and there is a lot of pent up demand. At the heart will always be really strong storytelling where consumers can build an emotional connection which can be taken off the screen and into physical products, and for a long time, too.”
The explosion of content is also giving companies such as ViacomCBS even more opportunity to connect with audiences, allowing them to immerse themselves in the IP and build meaningful and long-term emotional connections, Mark added.
When it comes to retail, they need to work out how to curate all these new opportunities.
“Roll the clock back ten years and content probably came from four different sources – toy, publishing, TV and movies – now you can roll into that gaming, influencers, etc,” said Mark. “Fundamentally, I still come back to that emotional connection with the audience… that awareness of your IP and the desire from audiences to live and embrace it beyond the screen.”
Notably, Gary added that ‘what’s your YouTube strategy?’ is the second most asked question he hears from retail now [after ‘who’s your toy partner?’].
Asked if the new landscape would lead to the death of traditional TV, Jon said: “Traditional TV is a shared experience, an appointment to view and none of that is going away. But some things are being done better by other platforms – we’re all trying to figure out how all the different platforms will work alongside each other.
“It’s perfectly possible to build a brand on linear or on AVOD. Where the magic happens is where a brand is big enough to work across all three.”
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From the February 2021 issue of The Toy Book.
VIACOMCBS SHINES THROUGH CREATIVE ADAPTIVITY
The Toy Book chats with Dion Vlachos, executive vice president of licensing and retail at ViacomCBS, about taking Nickelodeon shows from the TV to the toy box.
Toy Book: How do you work with your licensing partners to bring the magic of Nickelodeon shows from the screen to kids' everyday lives?
Dion Vlachos: We work closely with each partner at every stage of development to capture the distinct play patterns, fan-fa- vorite moments, and educational elements of each property and extend them into all product. We strive for authentic representation of our characters and their storylines, and it is important for us to capture that from the early designs and architecture of products.
TB: How do you ensure important elements or plotlines from the series are incorporated into the products?
DV: Our global consumer products creative team works very closely with content development teams at early stages to accurately capture the unique elements of each show as they begin development for toys. Characters and storylines are almost always in full development for many months (and sometimes years), and the content development teams share the critical vision for those characters and storylines by providing the direction for toy development even before the first episode takes shape in a rough reel. That collaboration is absolutely key to the success of the best representation or extension of a show into toys.
TB: Why is it important to incorporate the educational components from each series into the toys they inspire?
DV: The educational components of each show provide a distinct point of differentiation for each property, as well as an authentic fingerprint for play patterns. It is critical that we develop our toy strategy first to align on the promise and architecture of each line with those distinct educational elements in mind.
TB: How is Viacom CBS working to make sure internet sensations like Baby Shark and Ryan's World stay relevant beyond their viral videos?
DV: We are strategically building digital hits into full omnichannel franchises to ensure longer-term relevancy. Examples of that strategy include the launch of the new Nickelodeon series Baby Shark's Big Show! on the heels of the powerful YouTube phenomenon, and Ryan's Mystery Playdate on the heels of his YouTube fandom. Both of these franchises also have additional short-form content, social content, and retail campaigns that round out their reach for their preschool fans.
TB: What can kids and families expect from Nickelodeon-licensed toys and games this year?
DV: We have more innovation and freshness in store for our licensed toys and games this year. The teams have been working closely with our partners to develop the next level for each of our favorite preschool toys and launch some brand-new items into the market for new shows as we grow our portfolio.
TB: With the pandemic still affect ing kids' everyday lives, how is Viacom CBS working to spread joy and fun in 2021?
DV: We have focused energy this year on what we call "creative adaptivity in the face of the pandemic. Kids and families are spending more time at home together, learning remotely, playing, and building. We have worked with our partners to develop innovative solutions to help kids celebrate this extra time at home, from new puzzles, games, crafts, and outdoor toys to enhanced learning aids, stationery items, hygiene tools, and desk accessories. The list keeps growing, and the innovation keeps building into even more exciting new product.
TB: Why is it important for Viacom CBS to work with a variety of toy and game companies to bring Nickelodeon properties into hardgoods?
DV: It is important for us to work with a variety of toy and game partners to foster innovation found in each company as well as provide distinct points of differentiation between product lines. We are committed to a diverse partner mix to better reflect our global consumers, including retail partners, creative agencies, and licensees.
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From Toy World Magazine:
Spin Master details an exciting year for Paw Patrol brand
2021 is set to be an exciting year for the Paw Patrol brand with new toy launches this spring and the release of the highly anticipated Paw Patrol film in summer.
News of Paw Patrol: The Movie was unveiled last year and the release is now only a few months away. Set for release by Paramount Pictures in August, the film is based on the popular animated Nickelodeon series that first hit screens back in 2013 and will be voiced by a star-studded cast including Kim Kardashian, Jimmy Kimmel, Tyler Perry and Dax Shepard.
In addition to the film premiering this summer, Spin Master’s Paw Patrol brand has a raft of exciting launches underway for spring. Following the huge success of the Dino Rescue range last year, the popular pre-school brand has now introduced a new range of figures, vehicles and playsets with its new Moto Pups line. The new range has launched alongside the latest season of Nick Jr’s Paw Patrol programming, which hit screens last month.
Within the Moto Pups range sit six unique motorcycles and refreshed outfits for all of the brand’s beloved heroes. The themed motorcycles feature authentic graphics and details, large wheels and a pull-back function that allows for performing wheelies and paw-some stunts. Spin Master has also introduced the new Moto Pups Mini Figures to its roster of Paw Patrol toys. Each collectible figure comes in an Adventure Bay Tower container and in true collectible fashion, it’s a surprise which pup is inside. There are seven pups to collect, including the latest addition to the team, Wildcat. The main highlight from the range is the epic new Moto Pups HQ Play Set which features exciting sounds, a motorcycle launch ramp and looks just like the Paw Patrol’s action-packed headquarters from the show.
The extensive collection also includes the Rocky Reuse It Truck, which launched at the start of the year. Equipped with rolling wheels and moving arms, the unique recycling-themed truck makes it easy to play out imaginative missions with Rocky and the rest of the Paw Patrol team.
Becca Hanlon, senior brand manager at Spin Master UK, commented: Paw Patrol really continues to shine in the pre-school space, not only have we had the exciting spring launches this year with Moto Pups & Rocky’s ReUse It Truck, but with Paw Patrol: The Movie set to be a huge summer hit, it really is an exciting year for Paw Patrol.”
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