Renegades | Tammy Henault Talks All Things Marketing & NBA
The NBA Chief Marketing Officer Reflects on Her Career Journey
Welcome to Renegades, a series spotlighting Asian Pacific leaders and creatives who are carving their own paths and defying stereotypes along the way. This week’s feature is NBA Chief Marketing Officer Tammy Henault. Her marketing experience has ranged from publications (Time Inc., The New York Times) to entertainment, most notably launching streaming service Paramount+. Now as the CMO of the National Basketball Association, she is directly shaping how the sport reaches its dedicated fans.
What did you want to be when you were growing up, and how does that compare to what you do today?
My mother spent her life managing diabetes. She was diagnosed in her late 20s and had to take insulin shots twice a day. She hated needles and it was a constant burden ever since I could remember. When I was growing up I wanted to become a doctor to help find a cure. I thought I was going to be Pre-Med when I went to college, but I was not inspired by the coursework and ultimately changed to Communications my Freshman year.
You started your career in junior year of college when you did an internship in NYC that explores diversity in advertising. What was an unexpected valuable lesson you learned during that experience?
I got my start in this industry through a program focused on increasing diverse talent in advertising, called “MAIP”, the 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Internship Program. The program provided me with invaluable opportunities to learn, grow, and connect with industry professionals who believed in the power of representation. An unexpected lesson from the summer was just how much more difficult it is in the ‘real world’, especially for underrepresented employees and how important building networks and relationships is to level the playing field.
Being a successful individual in the C-suite often requires significant time, sacrifice, and dedication. Can you share an anecdote of when you felt a strong intrinsic sense of accomplishment with your professional career?
This past November, I was inducted into the AAF Hall of Achievement and it will be an evening that I cherish for a long time. There were many times throughout my career that I felt overlooked and unrecognized and then to be recognized in this way was an incredible honor. I felt “seen” for a body of work that I’ve been incredibly proud of.
Where do you believe your fuel for creativity and ambitious work ethic comes from? Any particular mentors or role models that have inspired you along the way?
My parents would tell me that my work ethic and competitive spirit was 100% nature vs. nurture and started showing itself early in elementary school, completely unprompted by them. As for mentors and role models, I have had the benefit of so many. I’ve had incredible managers throughout my career that really took time to coach and mentor me along the way.
I’d be remiss not to mention Domenic DiMeglio, Chief Marketing and Data Officer at Paramount Streaming, who I got to work with for nearly a decade building Paramount+. He taught me so much about leadership and also happens to be one of the smartest and hardest working people I know. In terms of role models, I have to say what a gift it was to work at Time Inc. and The New York Times early in my career as they were companies teeming with badass women leading the charge in so many disciplines. It helped me believe anything was possible.
Having led the successful launch of Paramount+, how has your transition to the NBA influenced innovative initiatives you are excited about for the NBA's Next Gen platform in enhancing fan engagement and loyalty?
I cannot underscore the incredibly positive impact that our digital platforms have had on growing the game of basketball here at home and internationally. We’ve long embraced social and digital media to grow NBA basketball around the world, especially among young people. 99% of our fans engage with the NBA exclusively through some form of media. We launched the new NBA App in the beginning of the 2022-23 season, and in that first year it generated more than one billion video views alone. What we are finding is that fans crave authentic, behind the scenes storytelling about their favorite teams and players. They want to know what they’re doing off the court, about their business ventures, their families, what they’re wearing and more. I’m excited about using our reach and platforms for deeper storytelling to help build the profiles of the next generation of NBA stars.
As we look to the years ahead, it’s extremely important that we are telling the stories of our young players and utilizing the platforms where we find our young, tech-savvy fans to do so. That’s why you see, in our marketing campaigns and on the original programming, we are highlighting personalities and stories of players like Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, and many more.
What is something you wish you had known earlier on in your professional career?
A career is a marathon, not a sprint. Take time to live in the moment and not be so anxious about what comes next.
Juggling the responsibilities of being a mother to two children while also managing a company as the CMO takes a high level of dedication. Could you share any practices or routines you incorporate into your daily life to alleviate any stresses that may arise from such a dynamic role?
To be honest, I have not fully figured this out and often feel as though I’m running on empty. The best advice I can give here is to be ruthless in prioritizing what is important and what matters. For everything else, it’ll be there tomorrow.
Can you tell us about a specific campaign or activation in your current role that you are the most proud of?
This year, we launched a new tentpole, the NBA In-Season Tournament, and I’m incredibly proud of the work we did to educate fans and engage the NBA community. We were able to develop a fun and entertaining campaign that helped drive record early season viewership and ultimately grow the game of basketball. I’m looking forward to what we have in store for fans for season 2, now called the Emirates NBA Cup!
What is an upcoming project that you are particularly excited about? And why?
I’m really excited for the NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel and the NBA Finals presented by YouTubeTV. The competition to close out the regular season was as fierce and exciting as we could possibly hope for and the First Round games are already off to a strong start. We are launching our Finals campaign in a few weeks and I’m excited to see that come to life as we got to do some really creative and fun storytelling.
Lightning Round
Favorite childhood snack: A Korean kids snack called “Gorebap”, my kids are now hooked on it. You can find it at H-Mart.
Your go to karaoke song: TLC “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls”
Dream vacation: Sailing the Mediterranean with my family and close friends
Most underrated women’s sport: All of Them!
Best way to destress: Massage or Yoga Class
Household item you can’t live without: Cell Phone