When Knut, the baby polar bear in Berlin zoo, entered the scene in 2007, the zoo owners really knew how to catch the headlines. The cuddly ball of white fluff quickly became an international star making headlines in every corner of the globe. Excellent PR, and the visitors flooded in adding welcome revenue.

In the background, watching events, was Haribo. Of course they probably already had the formulation and other key product development ready for another launch that never happened, or they’re quick. Within weeks their new product hit the supermarket shelves. A good example of what Kotler would call “Watching the marketing environment”. They got there first, they got the sales.