Today, Nicholas Ferguson, chairman of The Courtauld Institute of Art, has announced the formation of the Samuel Courtauld Society.

Named after one of the UK’s leading 20th century philanthropists, the new Samuel Courtauld Society aims to attract committed philanthropists and donors willing to support the Institute, which Courtauld created in 1932.

Described in the Spectator as the ‘pre-eminent centre for the study of art history in the world’, The Courtauld is known for its collections and for producing many of the art world’s leading critics (such as Brian Sewell) as well as museum directors and curators (such as Sir Nicholas Serota).

Skype cherishes its online community and sees the blogosphere as an important part of its communications activities especially when it comes to maintaining its profile on a local country level. Skype bloggers have a critical role in explaining and interacting with Skype’s customers helping to highlight and explain new products and services.

“Everyone knows that the blogosphere is an incredibly influential arena for motivating public opinion. Much of Skype’s success has been driven by the open relationship we have with our online communities who, via our forums and posts, give us direct and valuable feedback on how we’re doing as a company. So we need to make sure we are responding in the right way. And Glasshouse is an instrumental part of this, especially in helping us project the right voice,” said Imogen Bailey, director of global PR.

Glasshouse Partnership has been charged with building the strategy and explaining what Skype is doing on a local market level. Glasshouse Partnership will co-ordinate the team of freelancers who blog from Brazil, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

The appointment is effective immediately. The account will be led by Glasshouse founder director, Tim Kitchin, who said: “We’re delighted Skype have chosen us for this and look forward to working with Skype as it continues to expand and innovate worldwide.”

The work will also include managing public profile for AccountAbility’s president, Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, and AccountAbility’s CEO, Simon Zadek. Simon Zadek said: “We wanted a communications partner who really understood AccountAbility’s business and whose vision and networks were aligned with ours.”

Tim Kitchin, Glasshouse’s founder-partner commented: “AccountAbility exists to find better ways to hold decision-makers to account. Both in the UK, and globally, there has never been a more timely mission.”

Thomas, who was critical in helping rugby’s transition from amateur to a commercially successful professional sport, starts his role at Glasshouse Partnership immediately.

Thomas will promote Glasshouse Partnership’s sports services offering, aimed at sports associations, commercial organisations and the public sector.

Thomas said: “My goal will be to help sporting associations and business sponsors get more from their involvement in sports at a commercial, marketing or communications level. As a Company, Glasshouse excels at building revenues, reputation and relationships for its clients. I hope to build on and continue the company’s success with new clients”

Glasshouse Partnership believes sport has been regarded primarily a tool for building brand visibility and product sales. But the Government’s on-going commitments to using sport as a tool in social marketing (for example, by using sports and sportspeople in campaigns to deal with issues like obesity) and the interest created by the Olympics could mean the nature and demand for sports communication will change.

James Thellusson, Glasshouse Partnership, managing director said: “Sport is moving up the communication agenda. Public affairs and CSR directors, who may not have thought of sport as a platform for reputation building in the past, are going to ask: how can we use this interest in sport to build and engage our stakeholders?. In our view, companies will increasingly look at sport as a way of integrating aspects of their public affairs, CSR and marketing activities.”

Glasshouse Partnership’s founder, James Thellusson, will run the account reporting direct to Thomas Kurth, G-14 general manager, taking on a senior press role for the organisation. As well as being responsible press office function, Glasshouse Partnership will review the organisation’s web site and developing new communications content.

G-14 member clubs include Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern München. The key role of the organisation is to represent G-14 members’ shared interests in the international context, especially with regard to competition format and management where its members are involved.

Alongside G-14, Glasshouse Partnership also provides public affairs and PR advice to Premier Rugby Limited, the organisation which represents the 12 professional clubs in the Zurich Premiership.

Senior Marketers from Cadbury Schweppes, Nokia, Unilever and Unisys were among the respondents from blue-chip companies participating in the ‘First 100 Days’ research.

The research has distilled the insights of the UK’s leading marketers and provides the do’s and don’ts of how to be successful in the first 100 days of a new job.

A new web site, www.first100days.co.uk, has been built to promote the research findings and to provide marketers with a forum for debating the challenges of making a success of their ‘first 100 days’ in a new job. “At a time when Marketing is searching to enhance awareness of its value, this authoritative new report shows that team building is essential, ego a handicap and strong relationships with the CEO and other directors a basic requirement for success,” says Hugh Davidson, co-founder of Oxford Strategic Marketing and author of ‘Offensive Marketing’ and ‘Even More Offensive Marketing’.

Commenting on The First 100 Days research, Jonathan Turner, Managing Consultant at Oxford Strategic Marketing said: “The best marketers quickly focus on the key issues, key people and critical outcomes. What they don’t do is talk marketing jargon or make snap decisions about people and partners.”

Lindsay Leslie-Miller, Managing Director at Hunter-Miller said: “The first few months of any new job are pressurised. But for marketing directors, the pressure to perform can be acute. The seeds of future success or failure are sown early and visibly in the first 100 days of a new job. This report should be a real help to those wanting to learn from the best on how to succeed.”