FM
Fiona MacLeod
Founder & Managing Director · 18y exp
Born on Islay, trained at Edrington. Built Highland Collective to do for smaller distilleries what the global houses do for themselves.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ What clients say
"We hit 96 percent capacity on our premium tasting tours and grew international visitor share to 67 percent. Highland told the Glenturret story without losing what makes it ours."
Andrew Gemmell
Visitor Experience Director, Glenturret Distillery
"1.8 million pounds of US DTC revenue from a cold start, all compliant. Their grasp of the Scotch regulations is what made it possible."
Helen Frazer
International Brand Director, Crabbie's Whisky
"Off-season visitor revenue grew 47 percent in a single year. They turned a quiet five months into a real season for our partners."
Stuart Buchanan
Director, Loch Lomond Tourism Board
HC
Highland Collective — Social Media Marketing Agency in Glasgow
Whisky, food & travel brand marketing in Scotland
Glasgow, United Kingdom · Whisky distillery + Scottish tourism marketing
17+
Clients served
6
Years active
3.6x
Average ROI
GBP 32M+
Revenue generated
78k+ tasting bookings
Leads delivered
9
Active retainers
About Highland Collective
Highland Collective specializes in marketing whisky distilleries and Scottish tourism experiences. They translate centuries-old craftsmanship into content that resonates with global luxury and travel audiences.
What sets them apart
Highland Collective is the agency Scotch distilleries call when they need to reach international whisky buyers without compromising heritage. The team operates inside the unusual constraints of the Scotch Whisky Regulations and the Portman Group code, which means they can run premium content programs that do not get pulled by ASA or social platforms. They have 6 years of relationships across the SMWS, distillery owners on Speyside and Islay, and the Scottish Tourism Alliance. Beyond spirits, the team translates the same heritage-storytelling discipline into Scottish food, hospitality, and travel brands that are competing globally with limited budgets.
Industries served
- Spirits
- Tourism
- Heritage brands
Services
- Distillery storytelling
- Tourism content
- Travel partnerships
- Heritage brand strategy
Meet the team
The people who'll be running your account. Names with are Inflowave-verified.
IS
Iain Sutherland
Head of Whisky Programs · 14y exp
Former SMWS ambassador. Knows every Speyside warehouse personally and leads the distillery storytelling craft.
BC
Beth Cameron
Tourism Lead · 9y exp
Visit Scotland Quality Assurance Partner liaison. Builds international tourism programs for Scottish destinations and heritage brands.
Qualifications & certifications
Meta Business Partner
Meta · 2024
Google Ads Certified
Google · 2024
VI
Visit Scotland Quality Assurance Partner
Visit Scotland · 2023
Inflowave Verified Agency
Inflowave · 2026
Notable clients
- G Glenturret Distillery
- C Crabbie's Whisky
- T The Macallan Estate (DTC)
- L Loch Lomond Tourism Board
Case studies
Real client engagements with measurable outcomes — swipe or use the arrows.
Glenturret distillery doubled tasting-tour bookings in one season
Whisky tourismClient: Glenturret Distillery
+153% bookings
67% international
+28% retail/visitor
Challenge
Scotland's oldest working distillery was selling out only 38% of its premium tasting-tour capacity. International tourists were not finding the booking page, and on-site retail conversion lagged peers.
Approach
Highland built a Reels-led content series featuring the Master Whisky Maker walking the warehouse and tasting room. Ran geo-targeted Meta and Google Hotel Ads against UK, US, and German whisky-traveler audiences. Layered an Instagram-DM booking flow with concierge handoff in EN, DE, and FR.
Result
Premium tasting-tour bookings hit 96% capacity by end of season, +153% year-on-year. International visitor share grew from 41% to 67%. On-site retail revenue per visitor rose 28%.
Crabbie's Whisky scaled US DTC from cold-start to GBP 1.8M
Spirits DTCClient: Crabbie's Whisky
GBP 1.8M revenue
41% repeat rate
4-state distributor interest
Challenge
A heritage Scotch brand wanted to test US DTC before committing to a full distributor footprint. Compliance constraints meant most performance channels were closed.
Approach
Built a content-first program with whisky-creator partnerships across the US and a tasting-pack subscription funnel via ReserveBar. Ran compliant Meta ads using brand-and-heritage messaging only, with all sales handed to ReserveBar at checkout. Layered Klaviyo for repeat-purchase flows.
Result
GBP 1.8M in US DTC revenue in the first 12 months. 41% of customers placed a second order within 90 days. Distributor interest in 4 states triggered a follow-on traditional rollout.
Loch Lomond Tourism Board grew off-season visitor revenue 47%
Travel and tourismClient: Loch Lomond Tourism Board
+47% off-season revenue
6.1x Pinterest
+1.4 night LOS
Challenge
A regional tourism board needed to fill the November to March shoulder season. The region was strongly associated with summer visits and off-season search interest from international markets was minimal.
Approach
Produced a "Highland Winter" content campaign with 15 partner accommodations and 8 distilleries, running across Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. Targeted UK, Irish, US, and German weekend-break audiences with cold-weather creative. Built a single discovery hub linking into partner booking pages.
Result
Off-season visitor revenue grew 47% year-on-year. Pinterest traffic to partner booking pages grew 6.1x. Average length-of-stay across the network rose 1.4 nights.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a social media marketing agency in Glasgow cost? +
Highland Collective works on a retainer (gbp 4k-18k/mo) + content production (gbp 8k-60k per project) model. Most social media marketing engagements in Glasgow run as monthly retainers — request a quote for exact numbers based on your goals.
What does Highland Collective specialize in? +
Highland Collective is a Glasgow, United Kingdom agency specializing in Whisky distillery + Scottish tourism marketing. They serve Spirits, Tourism, Heritage brands.
Is Highland Collective a good fit for my business? +
Highland Collective works best with Spirits, Tourism, Heritage brands brands and has served 17+ clients. If you need distillery storytelling, tourism content, travel partnerships, they're worth a conversation.
How is Highland Collective vetted? +
Every partner agency in the Inflowave directory is verified before listing. We confirm the business, its services, and its track record.
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Want to work with Highland Collective?
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