Work with Nicole

Brand and product marketing strategy for performance and lifestyle brands.

Some brands lose the consumer story inside the technology. Others watch their best products get diluted without a framework to protect them. And sometimes the concept is solid but the teams can't get aligned to bring it to market.

I'm Nicole Mills. Racing for the US Mountain Bike Team and winning a National Junior Championship shaped how I work today. I'm competitive by nature, always looking for new ways to understand and win the consumer. I'm a problem solver. When I see an obstacle, I think through how to get around it or remove it entirely. And I'm passionate about brands and ideas I believe in, which means I bring real energy to bringing them to life for consumers.

I spent almost 17 years at adidas leading global brand and product strategy: understanding consumers and market trends, shaping product concept direction, naming systems, innovation narratives and go-to-market across six business units. I built an AI naming tool that cut concept-to-market timelines by 30%, one more example of finding a smarter way around a hard problem.

Some of my proudest work has been focused on women and inclusivity: leading initiatives in the Global Women's Business Unit, translating female biomechanics research into product claims and introducing inclusive sizing (XXS-4XL) and full-coverage sportswear.

What I Do

Brand and Naming Systems: I build naming frameworks and positioning systems that scale across categories and protect the equity you've built.

Innovation Narrative: I translate what your product does into why a consumer or athlete cares. From brief to launch story to sell-in narrative.

Consumer & Athlete Insight: I start from the consumer, not the product. I brief, evaluate and distill research to uncover what athletes actually want and use those insights to drive strategy, positioning and go-to-market.

GTM Alignment: I work across product, creative, commercial and marketing teams to close the gap between concept and shelf.

AI Workflow Integration: When you are heads down in the think of the day, it's hard to see where AI could help. I look at your actual work and identify specifically where AI can help you save time and sharpen output. Concrete next steps, not a tool overview.

I started Rabbit Hole Strategy because these problems are solvable. And I know how to solve them.

How We Can Work Together

Project sprints. Retainer relationships. Embedded fractional leadership. Scope is set around your problem,
not a standard package.

Let's figure out where you're stuck. rabbitholestrategy@gmail.com