Samantha Staniforth

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT SAMANTHA STANIFORTH

I have synaesthesia - when I taste whisky, I literally see colours and stories. Sounds weird, but it\'s completely changed how I think about whisky and how I help other people experience it.I\'ve spent the past 8 years working in Scotland\'s whisky industry, mostly helping premium brands figure out how to make their whisky approachable without being patronising. I run my own thing now - Vantage Creative - where I work with distilleries, bars, and corporate clients creating whisky experiences that actually mean something to people.I also do events and community work for OurWhisky Foundation (a mentorship programme for people in the industry). Before going solo, I worked at The Macallan, Highland Park, Benriach, and Glenglassaugh doing everything from VIP tours to social media to training brand ambassadors.Some things I\'m proud of: I increased sales by 9.43% when I was managing two visitor centres, grew social media engagement by 40% for a couple different brands, and built an education programme that got 25% more people engaged with the brand. I\'m good with the business side (P&L, budgets, data) and the creative side (content, experiences, storytelling). I\'ve got my Diploma in Single Malt Whisky and Certificate in Distilling. I\'m American but I\'ve been living in Northeast Scotland (Speyside) for years, so I get both the \"this is all new and exciting\" perspective and the \"respect the tradition\" side of whisky.If you want to chat about whisky education, brand work, or creating better experiences - send me a message. s•••••••@vantagecreativescot.co.uk vantagecreativescot.co.uk