John Thompson and John Day
The duo discuss their thinking behind producing a case series, writing a ‘taster’ case for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the appeal of Fabergé.
Doing Fabergé justice
John Thompson said: “We did not set out to write a series of cases. We literally stumbled across the exquisite enamelled eggs designed by the late Theo Fabergé and became convinced there was an interesting back story.
"Theo, the last surviving grandson of Peter Carl did not own the Fabergé trademark, and his later work after 1985 was branded 'designed by Theo Fabergé' and marketed on his behalf by an independent London small business - the St. Petersburg Collection.
 "Theo was producing equally exquisite decorative objects prior to that, an ivory casket made for the Silver Jubilee in 1977 led to him being elected to the Worshipful Company of Turners as a Freeman Prizeman and later on his 80th birthday in 2002, he was awarded the rare honour of being presented with an Honorary Liverydom.
“We knew something of the history of the Imperial Eggs, of course, but we had no idea how complex and fascinating the real story is. Or rather the multiple interwoven stories – about the preservation of Fabergé’s heritage;  about the ceding of the brand name to some very smart entrepreneurs in America; about the intervention some ten years ago when the brand name was bought by Pallinghurst; and about their desire to create a mine and market business model for coloured gemstones to rival that of De Beers with diamonds.
“Once we started writing it was obvious that to do justice to both the story and the brand we needed more than one case. After all, the story encompasses business history, entrepreneurship and corporate entrepreneurship, strategy and entrepreneurial marketing.”
Catering for different audiences
John Thompson added: “The ‘taster’ case (The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt) is very much part of the whole story but it is a stand-alone.
“We were looking into the actions that the team running the new Fabergé business took to re-build the brand, and its recognition in a very crowded and competitive marketplace for high-end luxury jewellery products – just think about the numbers of expensive watches you can see in high streets and shopping malls everywhere in the world – when we were told more about the two Big Egg Hunts.
“We had both come across charity-linked street architecture trails in America – and John Day had seen some of the eggs on display in London in 2012 – but we weren’t familiar with the Elephant Family charity. As we asked more questions, it became obvious that evaluating the value of such promotions for sponsors and supporters is much more difficult than quantifying the value for the charitable causes involved.
 “Whilst the Big Egg Hunts can – and should – be evaluated in respect of their value for Fabergé, they also present a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in the operational details, and potentially design either their own eggs or their own promotional event – which, of course, they could then actually run at a local level and raise money in their town or city.
“The story is multi-layered with interlocking contemporary and historical events - so creating a challenging package, particularly concerning preparation time, suggests a postgraduate audience. However individual parts stand alone, for example, as we were drawn into the Big Egg Hunt we realised that this could be treated differently and distinctively and would work for both undergraduates and postgraduates.”
Caught up in the romance
John Day commented: “When we introduce students to the cases we want them to read and analyse, we normally begin by asking what the name “Fabergé” means to them – if, indeed, it means very much.
“Fabergé Eggs definitely get a mention from some students – most typically because of them being associated with particular movies – and occasionally Russia is also mentioned. This reinforces the scale of the challenge, of course, and is a reminder that rebuilding a brand in this way takes time and considerable learning through trial-and-error.
“Perhaps significantly it is very rare that students associate Fabergé with Brut, without any prompting, although many are familiar with Brut-branded products.
“As people read and learn more, the romance element becomes more significant and, we believe, there is genuine respect and support for taking on the challenge in the way the new owners have. After all, in the context of jewellery, Fabergé was once the ‘best of the best’ and, amongst its target customers, unrivalled. There is no automatic right to assume this has been put on hold for 90 years.
“More significant, perhaps, is the extent to which this romance needs to be part of the story of the new products. The importance and value of the heritage is key to everything and the cases show how different key stakeholders have held different perspectives on this.”
About the authors
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Who – the protagonist
Whilst also creating jewellery, it was Peter Carl’s 
When?