By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
The Paddington Bear brand is continuing its licensing agreement with the non-profit charity organization, UNICEF.
Originally created by Michael Bond in 1958, the Paddington Bear franchise is currently owned by the film production company, StudioCanal.
The brands’ partnership with UNICEF includes educational fundraising products for the non-profit organization through personlized Paddington’s Postcards, Paddington’s Parcels, and advent calendars featuring the Paddington Bear character. The partnership was facilitated by Paddington’s licensing agency The Copyrights Group.
“We are so proud to see the great impact Paddington’s collaboration with UNICEF has had since the beginning of the partnership in 2017,” said Sophie Kopaczynski, Chief Executive Officer of The Copyrights Group. “With Paddington’s Postcards, we were able to create a meaningful product that speaks to children and families around the world, allowing us to support UNICEF and spread Paddington’s superpower: the power of kindness.”
The Paddington’s Postcards program allows families to sign up for monthly donations to UNICEF to support children in need and receive personalized postcards and activity packs addressed from the Paddington Bear character.
The Paddington’s Parcels program allows families to select a collection of five gifts along with a Paddington Bear themed card through the UNICEF website to send to disadvantaged children around the world.
The Paddington Bear advent calenders features the iconic character and allows children and families to provide twenty-four different gifts to children in need.
The postcards are currently available in English, German, Italian and Norwegian and are offered in several key territories across the globe. These territories include the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany and Norway.
“UNICEF teams work around the clock to build a better world for every child, every day, everywhere,” said Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive Officer of UNICEF U.K. “We work with families, local communities, organizations and governments in more than 190 countries to help every child realize their full potential. We couldn’t do this without the generous contributions of our supporters.
“That’s why we are very grateful for Paddington’s ongoing support of our work and endless efforts to inspire, empower and educate thousands of other children,” Sparks added.
UNICEF is a humanitarian and developmental aid organization that focuses on providing relief to children and families across the globe. The organization is a branch of the United Nations and operates in 192 countries and territories internationally.
Paddington Bear is represented by the Copyrights Group, a full-service brand licensing agency that offers global brand development, licensing expertise, and retail expertise.
The Paddington Bear and UNICEF licensing collaboration plans to further expand its reach in 2023.
