Connecting the cancer community through events
Macmillan Cancer Support is a UK-wide charity dedicated to supporting 3.5 million people living with cancer. Events form a critical part of the organisation’s strategy, bringing together healthcare professionals to share best practices, spark a revolution in care, and amplify the voices of those affected by cancer.
“The significance of events in Macmillan strategy is huge” explains Amy Bates, Events Manager at Macmillan, “having the ability to bring healthcare professionals from across the UK together to network, to learn, is an amazing tool.”
The Challenge: Delivering large-scale, complex events with a small team
Macmillan’s in-house events team is lean, yet responsible for national conferences and multi-session workshops. Managing registrations, content submissions, attendee engagement, and on-site logistics for hundreds of participants previously required significant administrative effort.
The team needed a solution to handle large-scale events efficiently while delivering a seamless participant experience. Without it, event planning would have demanded far more time and resources, limiting their reach and impact.
Adapting to an evolving business
Macmillan has been using Cvent since 2017, initially for registration. Over time, as virtual and hybrid events became essential during the pandemic, and as in-person events have scaled up again, Cvent has evolved alongside their portfolio.
Cvent provides the flexibility and scalability to support everything from registration pathways to attendee engagement. “Cvent can adapt and grow with our event portfolio and strategic objectives,” Amy notes.
Without Cvent, we just wouldn't be able to deliver and reach as many people as we do.
A centralised multi-tool approach
Macmillan have gradually expanded their relationship with Cvent to support every stage of their events:
Abstract Management:
“We use this to collate content submissions, review, score it in a fair way, then assign the delivery.”
Registration:
“We have an application process; we review then award tickets based on the regional split – the functionality enables us to do this.”
Attendee Hub:
“This supports engagement in the lead up to and during the event. It facilitates connection, which is one of our key objectives.”
OnArrival:
“It’s super easy and efficient, when people are arriving and helps us make those last-minute changes in a way that is a lot less intense and admin heavy. “
A people-first partnership
From onboarding programs and in-depth training to access to online forums and resources, Cvent ensures the team can leverage the platform fully and independently. The Cvent account team acts as an extension of Macmillan’s event team, helping troubleshoot challenges, provide best-practice advice, and share insights that improve event planning and execution.
It’s not just a technology integration. It is a cultural integration between Cvent and Macmillan, they really support us to deliver our strategic objectives.
The Macmillan team are looking to expand their Cvent partnership even further – next on the agenda is venue sourcing. Amy tells us that for 2026, they plan to utilise the Cvent Supplier Network to find quality, accessible venues for the charity.
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