The NBA is promoting its upcoming finals behind the passions and anxieties fans feel during the course of a high-stakes playoff series, and the devotion they have for the championship trophy.

“We really wanted to lean into and evoke that emotion that people feel around the finals and get somebody to feel that that anticipation, that excitement, and also, that reverence that you have for what winning the Finals really means,” said Tammy Henault, the NBA’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview.

The campaign, known as “We Are All in the Finals,” comes as early-round playoff games draw strong ratings and the league is riding the benefits of a growing digital audience that Henault was brought in to help grow.

The first round of the playoffs across ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV was the most viewed in nine years, averaging 3.4 million viewers, up 15% vs. last year, according to the league. The first round delivered 2.6 billion views across NBA social and the NBA App (up 46% vs. last year), with significant increases internationally on NBA League Pass, which was up 53% compared with last year. The NBA Finals begin June 1 on ABC.

The ad, from Translation, was directed by Ryan Booth and features skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, rapper Suga, comedian and TV host Jimmy Kimmel and former NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning as well as NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. John Malkovich is the narrator. Its broadcast premiere will be during tonight's Game 5 of the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers series on TNT. “We Are All in The Finals” will also run across NBA social channels and on the NBA app.

Beyond the campaign spot, the NBA has invested in increasing awareness of the playoffs for casual fans using a broad reach earlier in the postseason, including increased linear, connected TV, social and digital ads. A social campaign has NBA’s championship trophy, known as the Larry O’Brien Trophy, touring various cities and events to complete a “bucket list.” The trophy has visited events such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the Kentucky Derby, and the Miami Grand Prix. The journey leads to a grand finale with the trophy’s arrival at Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Henault joined the league late last year after serving as VP of marketing for Paramount+. In 2021, she was an Ad Age 40 under 40 honoree.

Below, she outlines her marketing priorities for NBA. This interview was lightly edited for space.

When you joined the NBA in November, the league had just unveiled its new app and was prioritizing direct-to-consumer offerings. Can you give an update on your progress?

One of the reasons my background was a good fit with the league is because of my experience across a number of different direct-to-consumer businesses, and in the subscription space, and the streaming space. A big focus for the league this year was launching the new app, and really growing the fan base and audience there, in addition to growing our direct-to-consumer, one-to-one customer relationships with our new NBA ID program. [NBA ID, which is free to join, gives members access to NBA archival content, in addition to experiences offered by NBA partners, as well as ticket promotions.]

So that’s engaging the fans and being able to just start to reward them, and build a longer term deeper relationship with everybody. On the app this season, we’ve surpassed 1 billion views, up 300% year-over-year in terms of users and engagement. And then in terms of member ID, we’ve been able to drive a 40% increase in app downloads tied to people interested in the new membership program. We’re pretty excited about the stats and where we are today on those two initiatives.

Why is it important to be able to connect with fans on the app and get a personalized relationship with them?

We know that our fans engage and consume our content in so many different ways, particularly the younger fans and younger audiences. They have an expectation for [the NBA] to be on the platforms that they care about, and be able to consume on the go, and be able to provide the depth of coverage, [such as] the behind-the-scenes type of content that we put in the app. The viewing modes, like vertical video that are really natural for their viewing behaviors, and creating a product that feels for them are also important. I think is critical to be able to deepen engagement with a fan base that you want to connect with every day.

What are your other priorities?

One thing we’ve historically been really good at is really leaning into our big major tentpoles and making those big moments, and I think that certainly is going to continue to be a priority and focus, but I also think there’s white space to be able to show up and reach our fans in more places and more areas aligned with interests that our fans care about, 365 days a year—in-season, but even more, out of season.

And so whether that’s aligning with the gaming audience, or the fashion audience, or the music audience, I think we have really big opportunities to deepen engagement by showing up as a brand and in places that you might not expect us to, and be able to reach those fans all throughout the year.

What have you found to be successful in engaging younger fans?

We are really happy with the fan base we’re able to reach today—half of our fans are under 35. The average age of the NBA fan is the youngest of all the U.S. leagues, and we’re continuing to engage with them. A lot of it is being on the platforms, and creating the type of content that we know is engaging to them. And personalizing that experience whether that’s in the app, or in our one-to-one communications. I think a big part of it being authentic, in terms of the things that matter to them.

We're definitely trying to figure out how we make sure that when we have our messaging in the marketplace that we’re doing it in a way that’s authentic, and is value-based, and aligns with our audiences overall. And then I think we do a really great job making sure that we're reaching our tech-savvy audience, whether that's how we've shown up in the Web3 space, or how we create immersive experiences. I think all of that is a way to stay ahead and continue to engage the younger audience.

What was it that convinced you to want to come to work for the NBA?

If I look at my experience and career, from one industry to the next, it’s been going through kind of a major transformational change. I started in magazine publishing, and it was going through the big print-to-digital readership transition. And then when I went to The New York Times, it was going through the big print-to-digital readership transition. And then I went to television, and it was going to the struggling years of the streaming transition.

Now coming to sports, it’s also going through a huge platform and engagement viewership shift. In terms of the business challenge, it feels really familiar to me. I felt like a lot of my experiences I could bring here and really make an impact, particularly in building the direct consumer relationships and knowing that in this massive transformation, that’s going to be critical. That was a big reason.

I think it goes without saying that the NBA is truly one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world, a product that can draw over a million viewers for 200 nights a year. It’s a dream to be able to have an entertainment property where you can continue to engage fans and market in such a big way. And that’s incredibly exciting to me. Just being able to go to these games and sit in the playoffs and just experience the live experience has just made me have a new appreciation for what it means to be a core fan and I'm just fully invested and am loving every minute of it.