The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) sought to transform its annual Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month campaign into a unified national movement that would increase public awareness, encourage community participation, amplify authentic voices, and engage partners across all 50 states and six U.S. territories. The campaign needed to educate diverse audiences, strengthen the organization’s national brand, and generate measurable engagement across multiple communications channels.
As NACDD’s agency of record, 23 East Group developed and executed a fully integrated national communications campaign that combined strategic planning, branding, digital marketing, public relations, social media, email marketing, executive thought leadership, and multimedia storytelling.
The campaign was designed in multiple phases, beginning with the development of a unified messaging framework and visual identity that could be adopted by Developmental Disabilities Councils and partner organizations nationwide. To encourage participation and create authentic content, 23 East Group developed a national story collection portal, inviting individuals, families, advocates, and organizations to share their personal experiences through written stories and photographs. Submitted stories were curated into an interactive online gallery that served as a central campaign resource while generating content for social media, websites, newsletters, media outreach, and partner communications.
Throughout the campaign, 23 East Group managed national social media channels, coordinated email marketing, developed executive communications, produced multimedia content, and led a comprehensive public relations effort that extended campaign visibility well beyond NACDD’s owned channels.