Under Armour Races into Innovation

Yes, Nike and Adidas and Reebok are all well-established footwear brands, each with its own tradition of product innovation and large, loyal customer base.

But Under Armour, the darling of high-performance athletic apparel, sees lots of opportunity in specialized footwear with a distinctive USP--unique selling proposition.

In this case, Under Armour is promoting its new Speedform running shoes as "the holy grail of fit." And fit is a major benefit sought by serious runners.

Speedform has no seams, which means less rubbing or discomfort. And it's made in a Chinese bra factory, utilizing the facility's expertise in comfort and fit. Even if producing shoes in a bra factory seems unusual, it's clever marketing as well because it gives the media something to talk about. When you have 2.4 million Facebook likes and 218,000 Twitter followers, having something really unusual to talk about is a good thing.