Macmillan Open House

Cancer care is not equal. For many people in Black and South Asian communities, cancer is surrounded by silence, stigma, and a deep-rooted mistrust of health institutions. Macmillan Cancer Support needed a new way to reach and build relevance with these communities, ensuring people would feel able to seek vital support when they needed it. But how do you change deep-seated mistrust?

Created in partnership with creative agency The Elephant Room, the Macmillan Open House transformed cancer support into something people recognised and felt safe within. A real house, built for and with the community, shaped by cultural cues that felt warm, familiar, and human. No clinics. No leaflets. No lectures. Just open conversation. Over two days, creators, community leaders, and people with lived experience came together to talk about cancer alongside faith, family, money, mental health, food, love, and loss.

The impact was profound. The campaign delivered a 363% uplift in perceptions of Macmillan's commitment to culturally sensitive support and a 62% uplift in agreement that “Macmillan Cancer Support is for people like me” based on surveyed attendees. Digitally, the work was seen over 5 million times through creator content, exceeding targets by 190%, with engagement rates 12x the industry benchmark.

Crucially, Open House turned reach into advocacy. 100% of surveyed participants would now recommend Macmillan services, and 93% are ready to act as brand advocates. Open House didn't open a door. It built trust and gave voice to communities often silenced in the cancer conversation.