Partnership development for national social marketing campaigns is a much copied, but poorly researched, area of practice. As part of the development of Phase II of the Centers for Disease Control's National Bone Health Campaign, several needs-assessment and market analysis activities were conducted to develop partnership strategies that were responsive to the needs of both potential campaign priority audiences and those of possible partner organizations. We discuss how the findings present strategic options for partnership recruitment and some of the key marketing issues that need to be considered in crafting an effective partnership model at the local, state and national level.
