Positioning of social marketing on the nation's health agenda: Looking forward

Background: Healthy People 2020 objectives include: (1) expansion of social marketing approaches used in health promotion and disease prevention initiatives conducted by health departments in the 50 states; (2) implementation of formal instructional plans for teaching social marketing in the more than 50 schools and colleges of public health and accredited public health programs; and (3) implementation of public health practitioner workforce-development initiatives to strengthen consumer-oriented, evidence-based approaches to improving population health. Methods: Baseline data for these three initiatives will give rise to a myriad of discussion points for institutionalizing social marketing approaches at key decision stages of relevant public health education and behavior change programs and policies. Results: Consensus building techniques, institutional collaborations, and utilization of emerging technologies are among the multiple methods and platforms for tracking, compiling, and reporting data for these three initiatives that also will establish a strategic plan for helping to realize Health Communication and Health Information Technology Objectives 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3. Conclusions: Achievement of the Healthy People 2020 targets for social marketing will require a cross-sector approach involving academic, governmental, and non-governmental initiatives and cooperation, as well as deployment of cutting-edge technologies. Identification of specific kinds of resources to see these initiatives through to fruition will be presented through the lens of a prominent founding dean of a school of public health with extensive accompanying experience in both the public and private sectors and understanding of rich, emergent communication and learning technologies.