Pictured (left to right): John Power, FD Channel Advantage; Tony Locock, Head of Policy and Customer migration at HMRC; and Sheila McPherson, Director of MLR Payroll Services at the recent kick off event at the DWP offices in London.  

Channel Advantage is proud to be just one of just 300 companies in the UK who have been invited to partner with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in a new initiative called the Real Time Information (RTI) project.

The project has been around in one form or another for some time but Ian Duncan Smith, Minister at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) fought hard during the last budget to obtain funds to see the project implemented.

It will have a profound effect on the Benefits system as the intention is to ensure that entering into work will always be more profitable for a benefit claimant. Channel Advantage was invited to participate as we have a complex and constantly evolving payroll.  

So what will RTI mean?

The aim is that RTI will:

• make the PAYE process simpler and less burdensome for employers.
• reduce costs for HMRC and enable it to deal with non-compliance (such as late payment and debt collection) more effectively.
• support the payment of Universal Credits.
• make PAYE more accurate for individuals, over time reducing the number of bills and repayments sent after the end of the tax year.
• reduce Tax Credits error and fraud.

The current HMRC and DWP systems do not communicate and are not “real time” so very often benefit claimants and their advisors are not sure if its fiscally better to work or stay on benefits. Ian Duncan Smith is adamant that entering into work should always pay.

Channel Advantage will be tasked with providing regular feedback on the operation of the pilot scheme to HMRC. We will have access to NI Number validation tools and feed passport number information through to the UK Borders Agency for vetting as part of the employee set up process.

Finance Director, John Power comments: “This is the first major policy initiate where the Government have adopted a collaborative approach and invited employers to participate in and offer valuable feedback during the pilot phase. Once successful this approach will be used more widely across government and is to be welcomed.” Power adds, “ We are very excited about being part of a National initiative that will have a real impact on peoples' lives.”

Channel Advantage employs hundreds of full and part time staff throughout the year and always ensure that payment is made as swiftly as possible and all the necessary legal and tax processes are dealt with as efficiently as possible – leaving our quality staff to deliver a quality service back to our Clients.

If you’d like to find out about part-time or full-time work with us, please email your CV to booking@channel-advantage.co.uk, letting us know the locations you can work in and what type of work you are interested in.

The Star Wars promotion generated huge interest at the Currys Lakeside store and the Force was also strong in Nick who generated record sales for the campaign to date in the store.

We asked Nick about the experience and he said: “I got ambushed by four guys with laser guns outside the store at lunch time (exhibit A). Then I was held hostage for a while by a big guy (exhibit B). But thankfully got rescued by a friendly robot (exhibit C)”.

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Despite all the adventure Nick conscientiously completed his reporting and made sure that the Account Team would note: “Our promoter at Lakeside getting stopped and seen to by the Imperial Forces, but thankfully rescued by the Alliance”.

Well done Nick - and keep up the good work!

Whilst we cannot guarantee this level of excitement every weekend, we do have fantastic clients and great opportunities available. If you are interested in joining Channel Advantage as a product demonstrator or promoter, email your CV, location (galaxies near and far, far away) and availability details to booking@channel-advantage.co.uk - we still have some fantastic pre-Christmas roles to fill.

And if you'd like to find out more about Channel Advantage, visit our website.

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We are delighted to announce that Channel Advantage's Intel Team was awarded Bronze in the category of Most Effective Retail Training/Mystery Shopping at this year's Field Marketing and Brand Experience Awards.

Account Manager Andy Boothroyd, along with Regional Managers Alain Brissimitzakis and Mike Downey (pictured) represented the team at the Grosvenor Hotel ceremony on Wednesday (5th October 2011) and were pleased to receive the award which had a shortlist of eight impressive agencies and clients.

The evening was hosted by Channel Advantage MD, Richard Lipscombe (pictured above sporting gold face mask) and celebrated with staff and guests of the company including, Maggie Zaboura from Zaboura PR (pictured with CEO Tony Hall and Sam Lane) and Victoria Satterly from Channel Assist.

To find out how Channel Advantage can help your company become an award-winning Client, contact richard@channel-advantage.co.uk

Required experience / skill set:

1. Previous promoter/ brand ambassador/ trainer/ demonstrator/ sales experience.
2. Experience must have been gained within the retail environment (consumer electronics retail experience desired).
3. Passion for technology and able to understand technology with ease.
4. Understanding of the sales process and customer buying patterns (training will also be provided).
5. Organised and able to provide accurate, detailed reporting information for each day worked.

Package:

• Successful candidates, who have proven success on this campaign, will be considered for future high profile work if available in their area.
• A detailed and comprehensive Training programme (including Retail Partner selling skills/ accreditation where applicable) and on-going support will be provided.

Campaign availability:

• All weekends from the 5^th November up to and including the 8^th January 2012 (hours are generally 9:30am – 6pm Saturday and store opening hours on Sunday (6 hour shift inc breaks).
• Training is one day and sessions are being held on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd November.
• Nationwide opportunities.

To register your interest for the work, please ensure you are registered with us via our online registration form.

Send your CV outlining your relevant experience  by emailing booking@channel-advantage.co.uk and quote Intel Brand Ambassador in the subject. 

  About Channel Advantage:

Our website is just having a refresh at the moment, but in summary:

Channel Advantage is a leading field marketing and brand experience agency that specialises in technology. We pride ourselves on recruiting and managing the UK's brightest field staff to represent the most innovative tech products in the market place. Whether it is merchandising or auditing in retail, training store staff or demonstrating complex products, we will help bring the clients brand to life and deliver results.

We are currently looking for an experienced recruitment specialist to join our team. Working within the Operations Team, you will be responsible for ensuring we continually provide best-in-class field agents through our recruitment and field development strategy. You will be involved in all parts of the process of attracting, engaging, recruiting, maintaining and developing (personally and professionally) our field agents.

The role will be a mix of home, field and office based (Stonor Office). The role is full time, 37.5 hours per week.

Required experience / skill set

• Previous recruitment experience gained with multiple internal/ external clients with different recruitment criteria essential.
• Field Marketing background desired.
• Strong IT skills as daily use of systems and Microsoft packages will be required.
• Able to multitask, prioritise and work to deadlines whilst under pressure.
• Flexible approach to working and capacity to work evenings and a weekend day when required (patterns of work will be establish to suit successful candidates and business needs).
•  A strong communicator, who is able to build rapport quickly (via phone, e-mail, face2face).

Package

• Salary band £20 - £25K (OTE).
• Laptop, mobile phone and any other relevant kit.

Please send your CV, outlining relevant experience to tconnolly@channel-advantage.co.uk

About Us

Our website is just undergoing some work at the moment, but as a quick overview:

Channel Advantage is a leading field marketing and brand experience agency that specialises in technology. We pride ourselves on recruiting and managing the UK's brightest field staff to represent the most innovative tech products in the market place. Whether it is merchandising or auditing in retail, training store staff or demonstrating complex products, we will bring your brand to life and deliver results.

Rob Nicholl is on a high having recently climbed Ben Nevis! And - ever dedicated to the cause - he celebrated this achievement with a photo taken at the summit with the immortal words - "Channel Advantage Was Here!!!"

Rob is one of our fantastic Panasonic product demonstrators and can be seen in action most weekends in Comet Edinburgh. If you are in town, please pop by to say hi, congratulate him on his feat and ask him about the Viera TVs!

This has now started a trend - have you been anywhere cool, wild or interesting recently? Why not share your photo on our Facebook page and tell us your story!

The training followed the Channel Advantage proven formula for success - a mix sessions including product knowledge, people skills and processes.

Great Products

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With such a fantastic range of products from Sonos such as the PLAY:3 and PLAY:5 new sound systems to demonstrate, the product training was fun, engaging and highly interactive. 

Testing the Team's knowledge James Hazell and Laura Smith - two of the in-house Sonos retail product specialists - set head to head challenges for the team - with winners gaining sweets for their efforts.

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Great People

The team members have various levels of experience, but share a passion for technology and specifically music. Being people-focussed and having engaging personalities is key to a successful product demonstrator.

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Great Processes

Jade Simms and Simon Harvey from the Channel Advantage Ops team presented  important procedural information relating to 

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We'd like to wish all the new team members a very successful campaign!

To see more photos, click here.

To find out about other tactical demonstration opportunities with Channel Advantage, email bookings@channel-advantage.co.uk.

And if you would like to be a Client, please email rlipscombe@channel-advantage.co.uk.

Channel Advantage's full-time Netgear training team was out in force at the recent Dixons Retail "PLC" store staff training conference and Audio Visual roadshow series which began on 1st July 2011 and finishes on 25th July. 

Well over 1,000 store staff and managers as well as Head Office teams attended the shows that have been taking place across the UK from Birmingham and Newcastle, to Edinburgh and Glasgow, through to Milton Keynes and Tunbridge Wells and beyond. Netgear created a living room environment complete with comfy sofas to demonstrate the key role it plays in delivering a fully functioning connected home enabling Smart TVs and wireles communications. The roadshows are a key opportunity to have quality time with those who influence at the point of sale and the Netgear team was keen to make the best of it.

Team Member Philip Walsh adds: "The buzz at the roadshows has been amazing. We can talk about Netgear all day and it is fantastic when we get an audience of people who are genuinely interested and want to learn. We know how important store colleagues are in assisting shoppers to make the right choice, especially when it is perceived to be a complex purchase, and having the opportunity to meet and train so many in one go has been fantastic."

One of the attendees from the Heathrow roadshow was keen to comment: "Before today I was completely confused about the world of routers and home networking, but this session has been really fun and interactive... we even had to map out a house layout with the best solution for a specific scenario. I didn't get the prize, (one of three WiFi adapter), but better than that I actually think I know what I am talking about now!"

To find out more about Netgear, click here.

For more photos, visit our flickr site.

To talk to us about running a full time team for your brand, contact rlipscombe@channel-advantage.co.uk.

To join us - on a full or part-time basis, click here.

Channel Advantage hosted the second annual Longbridge Business Breakfast at their offices in Stonor Park on Wednesday 20th July. 

With the lure of sizzling bacon butties and steaming coffee, over 50 people travelled from as far afield as Wales and Cambridge for an 8am kick off at The Retreat - Channel Advantage's stunning training facilities set in the beautiful surroundings of Stonor Park. Attendees included top business executives from Intel, Samsung, Epson, Binatone and Synthetix and all were captivated by the inspirational presentation from the guest speaker.

Jeff Grout, author and non-executive Director at Longbridge, gave a fantastic presentation on the topic of Leadership - filled with quotes, examples and thought-provoking questions. One particular focus, on attitude to change, promoted smiles and laughter as the audience was asked to cross arms, then change...

This is the second Business Breakfast with Longbridge, a multi-sector recruitment company, hosted at Channel Advantage's training and meeting facility at Stonor Park. Darren Carroll, who heads up the Technology division gave a brief intro and conclusion; as did Richard Lipscombe, MD of Channel Advantage.

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A further breakfast is scheduled for September - and if you re interested in attending, please contact rlipscombe@channel-advantage.co.uk.

For all the photos, check out our flickr page.

Today sees the launch of Face to Face International magazine - the first truly European magazine for all organisations that need a personal presence in the market place.

Face to Face Magazine focuses on the field marketing and brand experience industry and is published in three languages (English, French and German) to reflect the nature of its European profile and to raise awareness of the innovative new agency alliance of Face-to-face International.

In its 60 glossy pages there are a number of thought-provoking, instructive and interesting articles where the focus is on de-mystifying the field marketing industry and fundamentally ‘making the complex simple’ – the alliance’s key mantra. Aimed at all levels of management and brand decision-makers the articles cover thought-leading topics including: how to select an agency, recruiting the right field staff to represent your brand and a focus on reporting systems. Also included are book reviews, research findings on shopper behaviour and insights into how consumers are influenced.

A key section of the magazine highlights the new Face to Face International organisation – an alliance of three leading agencies in the UK, France and Germany. Tony Hall, CEO of Channel Advantage the UK Founding Partner adds: “Face to Face Magazine is the first magazine to really give a European view of the Field Marketing  industry. Whilst dealing face to face is essentially the same process in each country, there are some key areas where teaming up with leading agencies can simplify and streamline activities – offering potential cost-savings and other efficiencies.”

The first issue of Face to Face Magazine is available now  with a cover price of £3.90 (€4.50). Complimentary copies (UK version) are available on request from facetoface@channeladvantage.co.uk or telephone 01491 639100.