title: Patient preferences in print advertisement marketing for plastic surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Plastic surgeons are competing for their share of a growing but still limited market, thus making advertising an important component in a successful plastic surgery practice.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors evaluate the variables, characteristics, and presentation features that make print advertisements most effectively pique the interest of individuals selecting a plastic surgeon.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online survey was administered to 404 individuals with active interest in plastic surgery from 10 major metropolitan areas. Participants were presented with 5 different advertisements from plastic surgeons throughout the country and were asked a series of both closed- and open-ended questions to assess verity, quality, and marketability of each advertisement. Reponses to open-ended questions were analyzed using the Wordle program (www.wordle.net).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequent themes identified for all 5 ads were "Being beautiful is possible" (41%), "I could be beautiful" (24%), "Some people need surgery to be beautiful" (16%), and "Being beautiful is important" (14%). Advertisement 1-featuring 3 women and no pre- or posttreatment photography, no physician photography, and a listing of the 3 physicians' credentials but not a list of the services provided-received the highest overall preference rating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factors including emotions felt while reading, unique qualities of the advertisement, list of procedures performed, use of models versus actual patients, and pictures of the plastic surgeons were found to contribute to the respondents' overall perception of advertisements used to market a plastic surgery practice.
authors: Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Akshay
authors: A
authors: Sanan
authors: Candace
authors: C
authors: Quinn
authors: Jeffrey H
authors: JH
authors: Spiegel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference; D011327:Printing; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: advertising; cosmetic surgery; marketing; plastic surgery; research