Imagine how tough it would be to be responsible for marketing a disappearing

product. Thats the challenge faced a group of marketers at DuPont, a company with
a portfolio of brands that, for the most part, reach final consumers only as
ingredients in finished products. Teflon non-stick coating, Lycra fibres, Freon
refrigerant, Kevlar bullet-resistant fabric, Stainmaster carpet-these well known
DuPont products share the distinction of being used in the manufacture of products
that ultimately bear some other companys brand.
Jamie Murray, the person in charge of managing what people think of the overall
DuPont brand, doesnt mind marketing products that cant be found on store
shelves or ordered from catalogs. We are the youngest 200 year-old company you
will ever meet. We are always out there searching for those needs that we can
invent something to satisfy.
The companys slogan, better things for better living, hints broadly at the variety
of needs DuPont has satisfied over the years. When the computer industry required
new forms of insulation for smaller and smaller electrical components, or the
aerospace program needed stronger material for satellite tethers, or firefighters
waned fire-retardant suits, DuPont researches headed to the laboratory. The
company owns almost 2000 trademarks and markets them in 200 countries around
the world.
The challenges DuPont faces I marketing its ingredient brands are no less daunting
than the challenges it faces in inventing them, so the company has developed five
key principles to guide its actions. Te first is personality management controlling
what the brand stands for and means to consumers. Gray Johnston, national
marketing communications manager for nylon furnishings, says that, for DuPont, its
science, business savvy, and a moral core. The second principle is visibility
management, which entails creating awareness and familiarity for the invisible
ingredients through integrated marketing communications.
The third is target management, which Johnston says involves very clearly defining
who it is that you need to connect with. For a brand such a DuPont, that includes
not only the end consumer, but also the many constituencies in the manufacturing
or value chain. The fourth principle is marketing management , which has to do
with understanding the dynamics of the marketplace so the company can fashion
the best connections with its target. Finally, there is reputation management , which
is a proactive approach to helping people understand what the company is and
what is about.
All of these principles are evident in DuPonts marketing of Lycra. To connect with
consumers worldwide, Lycra management started a global compaign in 1994 to
make customers familiar with the Lycra name and icon. To emphasize what the
product does, the company used the tagline Nothing moves like Lycra, which they
added to in 1996 with the line Clothes that move the way you do. As a result,

more than 50 percent of consumer recognize the brand name and, more important,
ask for garments made with Lycra. And its rare when customers ask for a fiber by
name.
To reach consumers, however, Lycra must be marketed to manufacturers of
garments and retailers. This requires careful cultivation on the part of Lycra
management. An example is the successful Wool Plus Lycra program initiated in
1995. For this venture, Lycra management teamed with the International Wool
Secretariat to produce woven fabrics made with wool and lycra. This union is
particularly noteworthy because it is the first time that two fibre groups have joined
to promote a product globally. It works because the union provides value to both
groups. The venture gives wool a new value-added feature by leveraging
recognition of products off the well-known Lycra name. DuPont can narket Lycra
beyond its traditional markets in areas where it has little expertise. Moreover,
because the program was sponsored evenly by the two partners, working together
means that each group has to expend fewer funds. As a result, each side gets
increased promotional awareness and market visibility for fewer dollars.
Understanding the dynamics of the marketplace has led DuPont to invest
in research to develop a newer softer Lycra product. As the baby boomer
market ages, it also gains a few pounds, sags a little, and moves up to a
larger size despite diets and exercise. Consequently, these consumers are looking
for more support, lift, and control in bodywear , undergarments, and activewear.
The new product, Lycra soft or Type 902c, has higher elongation that almost
doubles the stretch qualities and gives it a consistent level of pressure for all
over control, and it has significant recovery force---all important characteristics
to aging boomers.
By developing new products such as Lycra soft, DuPont not only helps its
own profit line, but also that of its immediate customers. Firms such as Wacoal
Japan,a Kyoto-based innerwear giant, have begun using Lycra soft in the Far
East in a control brief called Magic pants. Accirding to Alan Fisher, vice
presidentof merchandising at the Wacoal America unit, Its a premium fiber(and)
it certainly has the stretch advantages of all-over fit and functions, and less yardage
is used. Prettier, more feminine-looking shapewear items can be made.
Firms in the United States are not on this opportunity. Maidnform is already into
wear-trials with it, so U.S. consumers may soon see these products in stores around
the country. One store, in particular, where they may find garments containing
Lycra Soft is Macys, which is negotiating for use of the product in garments sod
through Fedrated Stores.
Some manufacturers are even willing to tie their names that of Lycra. A case in
point is Liz Claiborne, a gaint in womens clothing. The new line, caed Liz and Lycra,

includes leggings, pants, turtlenecks, a crew neck, an an A-line wrap skirt and two
jackets. All pieces will have a special Liz and Lycra hangtag.
The decision to launch Liz and Lycra was made based in information from
Europe, which showed stretch items increasing in popularity, and on market
research in which the company found that women wanted versality, comfort, and
durability in a garment. The product were wear-tested by staf at Claiborne
headquarters, who found that Lycra eliminated the bagging which generally occurs
at the knees on leggings and stretch pants.
Given these good results, the new line kicked off in Macys Herald Square in Mrch
1996 with in-store events, following a New York Times ad on the preceding Sunday.
The ads and in-store visuals featured American Ballet Theater principal dancer Julie
kent photographed by Jose Picayo. Thus, the creation of Liz and Lycra benefied not
only Liz Claiborne and DuPont, but also Macys, which is considering adding its own
products that include Lycra. Association with the American Ballet Theater is laso a
plus for all parties. ABT adds cachet to the Liz, Lycra, and Macys brands and also
creates a positive association between each brand and the ballet-a sort ofgood
citizenship status. The balet gets promotion at on charge to it.
High standards are required of all the partners with whom uPont enters into
arrangements. one of the most serious challenges any ingredient brand face is
[that] when your brand becomes very popular and very strong, lots of companies
want to use it, says Mary Kopf, brand manager for Kevlar and Nomex.
Unfortunately, not all of these companies have high ethical standards, so you
might run into into what we call counterfeiters. These are companies who either
dont buy any of your product at all, or companies who any use a tiny bit of it, or
use it sometimes and other times not. But they label the product as if it contains our
ingredients, and what we have to do as responsible trademark owners is make sure
that we pursue those counterfeiting situations.
Enforcing the proper use of its ingredient brands is well worth the cost to DUPont,
which sees those brands as the source of the companys success during its almost
200-year history.
To enforce the Lycra name, DuPont has a toll-free number in the United States (1800-64-Lycra) for customers and final campaigns stating that Lycra is trademarked,
and its staff continually tests garments for Lycra brand authentically
worldwide.When labeled products that do no contain the Lycra brand are identified,
the company takes steps-frequently legal steps.
Your competition may ty to do imitate you technically, they may try to imitate
you with service, but one thing they cant imitate is your brand, Kopf say. In this
case, the appropriate use of the Lycra brand protects not only DuPont, but also Liz
Claiborne, the International wool Secretariat, Macys, Maidenform, and any of

DuPonts hundreds of partners. They all benefit from the value added by the Lyca
name.
Questions for Discussion:
1.What are the markets for Lycra?
2.How does the selling-buying relationship that occurs when Liz Claiborne wants
to team up with Lycra differ from that in which consumers purchases a garments
that contains Lycra?
3.What type of buying situation occurs when Liz Claiborne wants team with DuPont
to obtain Lycra for the Liz and Lyca line?
4. Why would Liz Claiborne want to use Lycra rather than some other elastic-type
product that might be less expensive?
5.DuPont spends tens of millions of dollars for consumers advertising for Lycra and
for tracking down counterfeiters. Does it make sense for the company to spend
money advertising to a market that if does not sell to directly? Does it make sense
to track down counterfeiters?
References: DuPont Launches Lycra Spandex, Women Wear Daily,
Jan.26,1996,p.15; Elizabeth Gladfelter, Liz stretches Out, Wind, March 6,1996,p.9;
Michael McNamara, DuPont, IWS Expanding Wool Plus Lycra Program, Womens
Wear daily, oct.2,1995,p.2; and Karyn Monget, Next Generation of Lycra Targets
Aging Baby Boomers, Womens wear Daily, Jan.29,1996,p.6.