In 2008, Paul Pierce led the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA Championship. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals. He was a seasoned, successful veteran at the apex of his career to that point -- which made the branding campaign we initiated that much more powerful.

When developing Paul's identity online, we focused on several key areas. The first was a name he had been given early in his career by Shaquille O'Neal: The Truth.

Even after winning the title, the nickname wasn't widely used or known. Paul was actually asked to explain it days after the Celtics became champions on the Conan O'Brien Show. From a conceptual and creative standpoint, the nickname could not have been a better place to begin.

One variation of the home page of Paul Pierce's web site, PaulPierce.net.

We started with Paul's logo, making the nickname -- The Truth -- an integral part of it, substantially larger than his actual name so that "The Truth" became a key visual takeaway for every visitor to this web site. We also recognized the dynamic nature of a nickname like "The Truth," and wanted to take advantage of it. We found quotes about truth -- ranging from everything from impossibility to genius to will -- from famous thinkers, and put them into a new context: namely, on Paul's home page, juxtaposed with images of Paul that said two things: champion and Boston Celtics.

Since the launch of Paul's online campaign, Google searches for "Paul Pierce" and "The Truth" have increased 600%.

In effect, we transformed a nickname into a meaningful concept that fans and the media wanted to be part of and actively used. In the years since, use of "Paul Pierce" and "The Truth" has increased in Google searches by 600%, and the nickname itself has become part of the basketball vernacular.

Secondly, we wanted to definitively link Paul with the Boston Celtics, and solidify his place among the Celtics' greats. He might have won the NBA title as a member of the Big Three, but unlike Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, Paul had spent his entire career with the Celtics. The aesthetics throughout his web site highlighted his connection to Boston, from the imagery to the color scheme, while a timeline on the home page showcased Paul and two other Celtic legends: Bill Russell, and Larry Bird. We also added a permanent section to the site that detailed Boston's run to its 17th championship in franchise history, and the critical role that Paul, the captain, played in it.

Finally, we launched a rigorous social networking campaign, literally from the word go. The day that Paul joined Twitter, a handful of followers signed onto his account, @paulpierce34, but many doubted it was actually him. A joint effort put things to rest. Paul decided to do a spontaneous in-person ticket giveaway for his own personal stadium suite in Boston. As he tweeted:  "aight on my way to arena b there at 430 with my jersey players entrance free tiket to game only got 5 left hurry up passcode is truth." 

That afternoon, at 4:30pm, a dozen or so people met Paul outside the arena, gave the password, and found themselves with tickets. One of them, Michael Chace, posted a blog entry with photos about being there, and we used that to create a story on PaulPierce.net, which we then retweeted from his Twitter account, and sent to local media. All doubt about the authenticity of Paul's account was removed.

As Chace wrote afterward: "So if you were wondering, yes, Paul Pierce is on Twitter."

Paul giving away tickets to his Tweeps (courtesy Michael Chace).

By the fall of 2010, Paul had 1.6 million followers on Twitter, and 350,000 on Facebook. Add in a branded apparel campaign called The Language of Truth that we launched in conjunction with Spreadshirt.com, and our online effort was in full swing. Together, Paul's digital properties (web site, social media, original content) have helped him to expand the activities of The Truth Fund, his foundation, and are driving him to what seems to be an increasingly inevitable entry into the pro basketball Hall of Fame.

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