The Open House
The Elephant Room
Client: Macmillan Cancer Support
And it’s often the communities most at risk of health inequalities who suffer the worst experiences. For many people in Black and South Asian communities, their experiences are surrounded by silence - shaped by stigma, fear, taboo and a deep mistrust of health institutions. To reach this audience we knew we had to change how we showed up. Instead of clinical spaces, leaflets or campaigns that talked at people, we created something universally understood. Home. Macmillan Open House was a real house built with the community and shaped by culture. A warm, nostalgic space designed for open conversations where cancer could be talked about, alongside faith, family, money, mental health, food, love and loss. Across two days, creators, community leaders and people with lived experience came together not as an audience but as equals. No scripts. No lectures. Just shared stories, culture, food, music and honesty. Replacing institutional distance with human closeness. The results were transformative. Perception that Macmillan is committed to culturally sensitive support increased by 363% and there was a 62% uplift in the belief that 'Macmillan is for people like me' based on surveyed attendees. Creator content generated over 5million views. But most importantly, reach became advocacy. 100% of participants and creators said they would now recommend Macmillan services, and 93% are ready to actively advocate for the brand. Open House didn’t just open a door. It built trust, giving a voice to communities too often silenced in the cancer conversation.