INVISTA Launches the LYCRA® Style Brand for the Ready-to-Wear Market

Brand positioning supported by traditional and biometric research to ensure consumer relevance

WICHITA, Kan., USA - March 21, 2011 - LYCRA® Style fiber, specifically designed to meet consumers’ need for personalized style without compromising comfort or fit, is kicking off its global launch in the U.S. in late March. LYCRA® Style fiber was developed for the unique branding, performance and pricing needs of the ready-to-wear market. The brand helps to create clothes that consumers love to wear, all day, every day, from day to night and casual to dressy occasions.

“INVISTA’s new ready-to-wear brand, LYCRA® Style, is extremely important to the growth of our overall INVISTA apparel business,” says Libby Neuner, INVISTA’s global marketing director for outerwear. “The sheer size of the ready-to-wear business and the opportunity to further penetrate the market makes this a critical area of focus for INVISTA.”

Historically, the LYCRA® brand has always had a strong emotional connection with consumers. The LYCRA® Style brand signals stylish, modern, fashionable and contemporary associations with consumers—all key attributes in ready-to-wear. The new brand is targeted to reach a new, younger customer and will redefine the role LYCRA® Style fiber will play in providing individual style without compromise. To better understand how to emotionally engage this new target consumer, INVISTA went beyond traditional market studies and worked with Innerscope Research, a leader in the biometric market research field. The goal was to uncover deeper consumer insights that would not be limited by conscious responses.

“Working closely with Innerscope Research’s biometric monitoring system, we were able to tap into consumers’ emotional subconscious and understand what messages are relevant and will lead to emotional engagement,” says Neuner. “Incorporating these messages into our LYCRA® Style brand communications strategy will enable us to break through the clutter and resonate with our target audience.”

In the Innerscope research study, women in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles were exposed to the LYCRA® Style fiber brand, logo, hangtag, concept statement and imagery. A biometric monitoring system measured their physical reactions to the stimuli. Changes in the women’s heart rates, respiration, perspiration, visual attention and cognitive processing were analyzed in relation to each stimulus. The data provided a thorough comparison of the women’s emotional feelings versus their conscious responses for each marketing element.

The test helped identify and optimize the key elements of the LYCRA® Style brand launch. It also confirmed that the brand is ideally positioned to connect with target consumers and drive them to respond. The LYCRA® Style brand launch in the U.S. will include online, outdoor, print advertising and a strong public relations outreach program. The fiber is available globally.

Innerscope and LYCRA® Style Brand Research Video

For a closer look at the research, a link is provided to a brief video featuring the biometric studies completed by Innerscope for the LYCRA® Style brand. Link to the video at http://www.lycra.com/style/biometricResearch/video.html.

About INVISTA

INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, INVISTA’s global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks including: ADI-PURE®, ANTRON®, AVORA®, C12™, COMFOREL®, COOLMAX®, CORDURA®, CORFREE®, DACRON®, DBE®, DYTEK®, FRESHFX™, LYCRA®, PERFORMA™, POLARGUARD®, POLYSHIELD®, POLYCLEAR®, SOLARMAX®, STAINMASTER®, SUPPLEX®, SUPRIVA®, TACTEL®, TACTESSE®, TERATE®, TERATHANE® THERMOLITE® and TORZEN™. More information on INVISTA can be found at www.INVISTA.com.