Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson

MARKETING
Adjunct Professor of Marketing

Print Overview

RICHARD E. WILSON is a leading international expert on structuring and managing marketing channels that drive company differentiation and competitiveness.

In 25 years of research, teaching, and advisory engagements on growth and distribution strategy issues, Rick has examined or worked directly with senior leaders of global manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and services institutions in over 100 business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. A popular speaker, Rick has delivered keynote addresses on routes-to-market distribution strategy at conferences around the world.

Rick’s teaching assignment includes “Marketing Channel Strategies” across the full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs. A Senior Lecturer in Kellogg’s MBA program, Rick has taught distribution at Kellogg since 1998 and collaborated with faculty at the school since the 1980’s. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Rick serves as Associate Director of the Kellogg Center for Global Marketing Practice. There he is working with Kellogg faculty to link the school’s rigorous academic research to students, alumni, practitioners, corporations, foundations, and other institutions to advance marketing knowledge and stimulate global marketing thought leadership.

Rick has most recently written cases and case notes on Coca-Cola Amatil, Target.com, Customer Experience Systems, Stihl Inc., Colfax Corporation, and Digital 2.0 Music Distribution. For MBA students, he has organized school-wide team competitions on new digital and brick & mortar distribution trends, most recently in energy drinks and video games.

Rick is also managing director of Chicago Strategy Associates, a faculty-based corporate advisory firm focused on distribution and marketing strategies which he founded in 1991. Prior to that he was in sales and marketing positions with The Eastman Kodak Company.

Rick received his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He also holds an undergraduate degree in Statistics from Miami University.

Print Vita
 
Print Research
Cases
Wilson, Richard. 2010. Target Corporation: Maintaining Relevance in the 21st Century Gaming Market. Case 5-110-003 (KEL442).
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Wilson, Richard. 2009. Technical Note: Customer Experience Systems. Case 7-308-002 (KEL419).
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Wilson, Richard. 2009. Coca-Cola Amatil: A Bottler Recharging Growth With Energy Drinks. Case 5-408-755 (KEL449).
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Wilson, Richard. 2008. Colfax Corporation: Designing a Middle East Oil and Gas Distribution System. Case 5-408-750 (KEL405).
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Wilson, Richard. 2008. Stihl Incorporated: Go-to-Market Strategy for Next-Generation Consumers. Case 5-308-501 (KEL398).
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Print Teaching
Full-Time / Part-Time MBA
Marketing Channel Strategies (MKTG-451-0)

This course counts toward the following majors: Marketing, Marketing Management

Marketing channels are analyzed as systems of interrelated and interdependent organizations engaged in making goods and services available for consumption by industrial, institutional and household consumers. This course emphasizes the means by which effective and efficient distribution networks (comprising manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, transportation firms and other actors in the distribution process) can be constructed. Particular attention is given to examining the behavioral dimensions of channel relations, the roles of channel members, their use of power, the conflicts that arise among them and their communication procedures. Government and other constraints on channel activities are also examined. Cases are used for illustrative and analytical purposes.

Digital Marketing and Commerce (MKTG-957-0)
In this experiential learning class you and your business team members will create an online retail strategy and working internet commerce site – including positioning your retail brand against target consumers, choosing category assortment, negotiating certain terms with vendors, setting prices and promotions, managing inventories, developing messaging and advertising, factoring in competition, and constructing a viable online business model. Then comes the hard part: real consumers will shop your stores at a KSM online shopping Mall. Depending on how they shop and what they buy, you must react, fast and effectively as the ‘pop-up’ online store will only be open for a few weeks during the course. But even in that short time, you are likely to find that your effective strategy by the end of the course turns out altogether different from the one you developed at launch. That’s real life and real business. And just as in business, you will be evaluated on your team’s ability to optimize performance and results, as measured by a range of relevant retailing results metrics and shopper insights. This new experiential Marketing course builds on material covered in Marketing 430, Marketing 466, and other Marketing classes, and is a unique opportunity for Kellogg students to interact with an impressive list of top digital marketing and commerce executives who will speak about current topics and current practices within a structured academic setting. The course will be highly relevant to students with career interests in internet marketing, online commerce, consumer products, product and merchandising management, new business development, and entrepreneurial start-ups.

PLEASE NOTE: MKTG-957 is a "No Drop" Course once the Bidding process is completed.



Executive MBA
Marketing Channels (MKTGX-451-0)
Marketing Channels analyzes marketing channels from economic, social and political viewpoints. Topics include the management of relationships within and among organizations in a distribution system, the formation of channel systems and methods of channel coordination, power and conflict among channel members, and the management of certain channel system forms.