"One Powerful Place" was developed to introduce a new global brand platform for the New England Center for Children as the organization marked its 50th year. While widely respected within autism education, research, and policy circles, NECC's scale and global impact were underrecognized beyond professional audiences.
The brief called for a platform that could articulate NECC's unique role as a hybrid organization: simultaneously a special-education school, a global nonprofit, and a research and training institute. With campuses in Massachusetts and Abu Dhabi, public school partnerships across New England, curriculum delivery in 23 states and 9 countries, and expanding consulting work throughout the Middle East, NECC needed a narrative that could hold complexity without diluting clarity.
The autism space often defaults to personal testimony or crisis-driven storytelling. NECC's work, by contrast, unfolds through systems, scale, and long-term investment. The challenge was to present that scope accessibly while reinforcing institutional leadership during a milestone year.
The creative centers on a short film narrated by Jon Stewart that tells "the story of the school for autism that changed the world," moving through fifty years of treatment innovation, teacher training, legislative advocacy, and family support. The tone departs from conventional nonprofit storytelling: wry, clear-eyed, and unsentimental, treating NECC's impact as something earned through rigor rather than spectacle.
Visually, the work presents NECC as one integrated ecosystem: 1,200 employees, 13,000 learners supported through its ACE ABA curriculum software, and over 2,000 graduate degrees awarded.
NECC’s power lies less in individual moments and more in the systems it builds, the professionals it trains, and the global standards it helps define. Communicating that truth required a broader articulation of institutional impact. The category was oversaturated with glassy-eyed tearjerkers, Sarah Mclachlan tracks and insincerity. The joy of childhood had been overlooked in the creative work. For parents and caregivers, this was detached and dark, and at the end of the day, these are incredible kids. We wanted to approach the situation realistically, but from a more relatable vantage point.
“One Powerful Place” positions NECC as a singular organization operating across education, research, and global training. The work frames the institution as both deeply human and structurally formidable, capable of shaping policy, advancing clinical practice, and supporting families across continents.
Another guiding insight recognized that credibility matters in the autism space. The choice to lead with clarity, restraint, and confidence reflects how NECC operates daily. Jon Stewart’s involvement aligns with this posture. His voice carries cultural trust while avoiding performative advocacy, reinforcing the film’s measured tone.
Strategically, the campaign launches a durable platform. The accompanying website establishes a foundation for future content, allowing NECC to continue articulating its mission, scale, and influence over time while supporting fundraising, recruitment, and global partnerships.
The campaign centers on a short film that pairs cinematic craft with deliberate looseness, allowing rigor and warmth to coexist in the same frame. Narration by Jon Stewart brings cultural trust and tonal discipline without overpowering the work.
Visually, the film blends multiple textures to reflect the lived reality of NECC. Archival and historical footage grounds the institution’s fifty-year legacy, while contemporary cinematic scenes, including drone footage, place the work firmly in the present. Hand-painted elements and illustrated supers drawn by NECC students introduce a human, tactile layer, creating moments of surprise and personality without undercutting credibility. The result feels playful, earned, and deeply specific to the community it represents.
Sound design, pacing, and editorial rhythm reinforce this balance. The film moves with confidence and restraint, allowing images, drawings, and voices to breathe while maintaining narrative momentum. Stewart’s endearing voice threads these elements together, providing continuity and clarity across shifting visual modes.
The film premiered at NECC’s 50th Anniversary Gala on November 15, anchoring the milestone celebration with a clear articulation of purpose and scale. From there, the campaign extends across online video, social, print, and event channels, with global distribution through Meta and additional platforms.
The simultaneous launch of onepowerfulplace.com establishes the work as a durable, multi-year brand platform, offering audiences a deeper, evolving view into NECC’s education, research, and global training efforts while supporting long-term awareness, recruitment, and fundraising.
While the campaign just launched, and the full scope of the results have not yet been seen, the first goal of the video was to help drive donations at the NECC 50th Anniversary Gala held in Boston on November 15th.
And boy, did it deliver. The evening resulted in a record-breaking $1.5 million raised, surpassing the goal by over 30%. The video has also increased social and web traffic by over 35% since launch.
