Senior Marketing Leader

Nicole
Summerlin

Brand · Growth · GTM Strategy

Strategic marketing leader with 10+ years building brands, launching products, and driving measurable growth across B2B manufacturing, luxury real estate, and ecommerce, from the boardroom to the campaign brief.

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10+
Years of Experience
3
Industries Led
$360K+
Budgets Managed
5+
Years of Senior Leadership
Nicole Summerlin
About

I'm a senior marketing leader who builds things that last: departments, systems, brands, and campaigns that continue generating results long after they launch.

My career has taken me from building the first marketing department at a national dancewear manufacturer, to leading luxury brand and PR strategy for one of the Southeast's premier real estate brokerages, to serving as Director of Marketing at Radarsign where I built the marketing function from the ground up and led the strategic brand, product, and demand generation programs that defined the company's next chapter.

I specialize in connecting strategy to execution. I'm equally comfortable presenting a GTM roadmap to a Board of Directors and writing the email that closes the campaign. I understand data, design, content, and revenue, and I know how to make them work together.

Core Competencies

Brand Strategy GTM Planning Product Marketing Demand Generation Campaign Execution Content Strategy Marketing Operations Sales Enablement PR & Communications SEO & Digital Email Marketing Social Media Analytics & Reporting Cross-Functional Leadership Distributor Marketing KPI Dashboards
What I Do

Areas of Expertise

I bring a rare combination of strategic leadership and hands-on execution across the disciplines that move marketing from cost center to growth engine.

01

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Building brands from fragmented to focused with messaging architecture, visual identity systems, brand governance, and positioning that holds up across every customer touchpoint.

02

Go-to-Market Strategy

End-to-end GTM planning and execution for product launches via audience targeting, channel strategy, launch sequencing, sales enablement, and performance tracking.

03

Demand Generation & Pipeline

Multi-channel programs that fill the funnel from PPC, email campaigns, SEO, content marketing, social media, and tradeshows, all measured and optimized by revenue contribution.

04

Content & Thought Leadership

Translating complex products and ideas into compelling content such as white papers, campaign messaging, press releases, editorial strategy, and long-form educational resources.

05

Marketing Operations & Analytics

Building the infrastructure behind the strategy with KPI dashboards, attribution systems, campaign operations frameworks, CRM integration, and reporting that drives decisions.

06

PR, Communications & Media

Earned media strategy, press release development, editorial partnerships, executive visibility, and integrated communications that strengthen brand authority and perception.

Career History

Professional Experience

Radarsign
Director of Marketing
2024 – 2026
Kennesaw, GA
Manufacturing · B2B · Public Sector

Building a Marketing Function from the Ground Up

Served as the Director of Marketing for a nationwide traffic safety manufacturer, building the department, systems, strategy, and brand infrastructure from scratch. Led all facets of marketing including brand strategy, product launches, GTM campaigns, digital marketing, content, PR, email, social media, and cross-functional leadership all while influencing 85% of organization-wide lead generation.

  • Built and scaled the company's marketing department, including KPI reporting systems, campaign operations, attribution processes, and integrated GTM infrastructure
  • Led strategic brand modernization that transformed a fragmented manufacturer into a strategically aligned traffic safety systems brand
  • Directed GTM strategy and full-launch execution for multiple product lines including the Solar LED Flashing Stop Sign, CrossCommand™ RRFB Crosswalk system, and the Command Ecosystem product platform
  • Architected and deployed a 295,000+ send email campaign generating 54 qualified quote requests in its first two months
  • Led the strategic positioning, communications, and marketing documentation supporting Radarsign's Sourcewell cooperative purchasing award
  • Secured Georgia Made® Certification and activated it as a multi-channel marketing initiative
  • Increased website traffic 36% YoY, active users 47% YoY, and engaged sessions 29% YoY
  • Increased marketing lead volume 26% QoQ and prospect conversions 43% QoQ
  • Presented marketing strategy, KPI performance, and 2026 roadmap to the Board of Directors
  • Managed annual marketing budgets exceeding $180K across media, agencies, software, paid advertising, tradeshows, and PR
Harry Norman, REALTORS®
Luxury Marketing Manager
2021 – 2024
Atlanta, GA
Luxury Real Estate · B2C · B2B

Brand Leadership Across 1,000+ Agents and 17 Offices

Led marketing strategy, luxury brand management, PR, and organizational communications for one of the Southeast's premier real estate brokerages, supporting more than 1,000 agents across 17 offices.

  • Increased year-over-year media coverage by 127% through strategic PR, executive positioning, and integrated communications campaigns
  • Managed the company's PR strategy in partnership with an external agency
  • Directed integrated campaigns across digital advertising, email, social media, luxury events, partnerships, print media, and experiential marketing
  • Managed relationships with international luxury networks including Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, Luxury Portfolio International®, Christie's International Real Estate, and Mayfair International Realty
  • Oversaw award-recognized brokerage website development and modernized CRM workflows
  • Led company-wide training initiatives on branding, digital strategy, and marketing platform adoption
  • Managed annual marketing budgets exceeding $120K
Eurotard Dancewear
Marketing Manager
2013 – 2020
Atlanta, GA
Ecommerce · Manufacturing · B2B + B2C

Building the Company's First Marketing Department

Built and led the first dedicated marketing department for a national dancewear manufacturer, transforming marketing into a core growth function. Directed customer acquisition and brand initiatives supporting 1,000+ retail stores nationwide and 100+ international distribution partners.

  • Built the company's first marketing department and operationalized it as a core revenue driver across B2B and B2C channels
  • Increased social-media-generated revenue by 88% and grew the social audience to 32,000+ followers
  • Increased email marketing open rates from 8% to 51% through audience segmentation and targeted messaging strategies
  • Led launch of the EuroSkins™ sub-brand, including positioning, website, packaging, catalogs, SEO, and integrated campaigns
  • Developed comprehensive brand guidelines that strengthened consistency across B2B and B2C markets
  • Received Advertising Excellence Award, 2017
  • Managed annual marketing budgets of approximately $60K
Selected Work

Case Studies

A selection of campaigns, launches, and strategic initiatives that illustrate how I approach marketing: with equal weight on the strategy behind the work and the results it produced.

01
Marketing Infrastructure · Demand Generation · Radarsign

From Reactive to Revenue-Driving: Building a High-Performance B2B Marketing Function

The Challenge

When I joined Radarsign, marketing operated as a reactive support function with no attribution model, no campaign framework, no repeatable launch process, and no visibility into what was driving growth across seven customer segments and multiple go-to-market channels.

The Strategy

Rather than immediately scaling campaigns, I built the foundation first: GA4 reporting architecture, executive KPI dashboards, standardized planning processes, and a repeatable product launch framework.

The Execution

Over two years, I led the full marketing function across a lean team including brand strategy, digital, email, PPC, social, PR, sales enablement, events, and product launches.

Key Outcomes
  • Increased directly attributable marketing ROI to $44.83 in revenue generated per $1 spent
  • 5.9% customer acquisition rate, exceeding the 5% goal (up from a 2.75% baseline)
  • 62.5% of all revenue touched by marketing-influenced or assisted activity
  • 48% website traffic growth year-over-year
  • 650% YoY lead growth in Jan–Feb 2026
  • 27.6% email click-through rate, nearly double the stated goal
  • 14.75% LinkedIn engagement rate, 5 to 15x the B2B industry benchmark
  • 53% lead-to-prospect conversion rate within a CRM funnel built from scratch
02
Product Launch · Brand Extension · Radarsign

Solar LED Stop Sign, New Product Category Entry

The Challenge

Radarsign had never sold a stop sign. Launching a Solar LED Flashing Stop Sign required not just campaign execution, but repositioning the brand from "radar speed sign company" to a broader traffic safety solutions provider.

Key Outcomes
  • Email drove 87% of all landing page traffic in launch period
  • Generated 47 CRM leads including 32 quoted prospects within weeks of launch
  • Earned editorial coverage in The Municipal and Officer Magazine
  • Established stop sign as an active, contributing revenue line
03
Product Launch · GTM Strategy · Radarsign

CrossCommand™ RRFB — Category-Defining Product Launch

Radarsign was entering the RRFB market with a genuinely differentiated product — the first RRFB to integrate radar-based traffic data directly at the crosswalk. I led the complete GTM strategy including positioning, naming, PPC, email, LinkedIn, and landing page.

Key Outcomes
  • 54 formal quote requests generated from email campaign alone
  • 295,211 emails deployed with 18.8% open rate and 20.3% CTR
  • Distributor track achieved 30.3% CTR, strongest segment response
  • LinkedIn engagement rate of 14.75%, 5 to 15x the B2B industry benchmark
  • New qualified leads up 650% in comparable year-over-year period
04
Content Marketing · PR · Radarsign

MUTCD Authority Positioning & Georgia Made® Campaign

The Challenge

Two strategic content and PR initiatives ran in parallel: establishing Radarsign as the authoritative voice on MUTCD 11th Edition compliance, and activating the Georgia Made® Certification as a procurement differentiator.

Key Outcomes
  • Named 2025 Best of Georgia Winner in Manufacturing — Georgia Business Journal
  • Established Radarsign as a recognized MUTCD compliance education authority
  • MUTCD content drove qualified organic search traffic at 61% engagement rate
  • Webinar reached targeted agency and municipal decision-maker audience
05
PR Strategy · Brand Management · Harry Norman

Luxury Brand & PR Leadership — 127% Media Coverage Growth

The Challenge

Harry Norman, REALTORS® needed to maintain and elevate its position as the Southeast's premier luxury real estate brokerage while supporting 1,000+ agents across 17 offices with consistent brand, PR, and communications programs.

Key Outcomes
  • Increased year-over-year media coverage by 127%
  • Recognized with award-winning brokerage website development
  • Named Atlanta Business Chronicle Cause Marketer of the Year, 2024
  • Modernized CRM and attribution infrastructure across 17 offices
06
Brand Building · Ecommerce · Eurotard Dancewear

Building a Marketing Function — and a Sub-Brand — from Zero

The Challenge

Eurotard Dancewear had no marketing department and no formal brand strategy when I joined. Over seven years, I built the function from the ground up and eventually created the EuroSkins™ sub-brand as a standalone product line.

Key Outcomes
  • Increased social-media-generated revenue by 88%
  • Grew social media audience to 32,000+ followers
  • Increased email open rates from 8% to 51% through segmentation strategy
  • Successfully launched EuroSkins™ sub-brand across all channels
  • Received Advertising Excellence Award, 2017
Perspectives

Where I Think Out Loud

Long-form thinking on brand strategy, GTM execution, and marketing leadership. Not a content calendar — a running record of how I actually approach this work.

Read Perspectives
Brand Strategy · June 2026
5 Questions I Ask Before Any Brand Repositioning
Most brand repositioning fails before it ever reaches the customer. Not because the strategy was wrong — because someone tried to do in 90 days what takes 18 months.
Marketing Leadership · June 2026
What Nobody Tells You About Building a Marketing Department from Scratch
The internal challenges follow a remarkably consistent pattern — not because companies make the same mistakes, but because the assumptions are almost universal.
Email Marketing · June 2026
Behavior-First Email Strategy: Let Behavior Do the Sorting
Email has been one of the most consistently high-performing channels across every industry I have worked in.
Recognition

Awards & Highlights

GovCIO

Top Radar Speed Sign Solutions, 2026

Georgia Business Journal

Best in Manufacturing, 2026

Georgia Made® Certification

Led Initiative — Radarsign, 2025

Atlanta Business Chronicle

Cause Marketer of the Year, 2024

Luxury Portfolio International

LPI Marketing and Consumer Materials Award, 2024

Award-Recognized Website

Harry Norman, REALTORS® Brokerage Website, 2022

Advertising Excellence Award

Eurotard Dancewear, 2017

Technology

Tools & Platforms

I work across the full marketing technology stack from analytics and attribution to creative production, CRM, paid media, and AI-supported workflows.

GA4 / Looker Studio
Google Ads
Google Search Console
SEMrush
WordPress CMS
HubSpot
NetSuite CRM
Mailchimp
Meta Ads Manager
LinkedIn Campaign Manager
Adobe Creative Suite
Canva
Figma
Sprout Social / Hootsuite
ClickUp / Monday.com
Shopify
Tableau / Power BI
Basecamp
ChatGPT & AI Workflows
Google Workspace
Education
Master of Science
Marketing & Brand Management
Georgia State University — J. Mack Robinson College of Business, 2017
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Dance
Valdosta State University, 2013
Get in Touch

Let's Connect

I'm actively exploring senior marketing leadership opportunities across brand, growth, and GTM strategy. If you're building something that needs a marketing leader who can think strategically and execute at a high level, I'd love to talk.

nsummerlin@me.com LinkedIn Profile 912-617-4071 Brunswick, GA · Open to Remote & Relocation
Download Resume