Lauren Hobart might not have the expected background of someone who is chief marketing officer at Dick’s Sporting Goods, but spending 14 years as a Pepsi marketer has given her insights to take on the new challenge. Among those points of knowledge is that creating consumer demand is far easier when there’s an unending passion for your product.

“This is a growth company, but I was also really attracted by the fact that it was all about sports,” said Hobart, who joined Dick’s in February. “For a marketer, the power that sports gives you is enormously seductive.”

Like any new CMO, Hobart is in the midst of consumer research to determine the brand vision for Dick’s, which is in the middle of rapid expansion. The work isn’t quite done, but Hobart said that what makes Dick’s unique is its dedication to servicing elite athletes. “We get all kinds of customers, but that’s the aspiration for all of them,” she said.

The new brand vision won’t be complete until next year. Until then, Hobart is reveling in the differences between consumer packaged goods and retail marketing. “The ability we have [at Dick’s] to impact change just a week after you make a decision is much different from consumer packaged goods,” she said. “That’s what makes it exciting.”