Jen Ahlsten on Plastic Surgery Marketing

Pricing can shape how patients interpret competence, risk, exclusivity, and demand. If two surgeons produced identical results, and one charged three times as much, some patients may instinctively trust the more expensive surgeon. A higher fee can suggest higher standards and stronger demand, while a lower fee may imply the opposite.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Tone of communication is part of a larger question about business objectives. Brand perception contributes to client acquisition and perceived value of services, making brand positioning an important business decision for plastic surgery practices.
This article is based on my book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠⁠ResearchGate⁠⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠Research⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠Book⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Vitruviani⁠⁠

Tone of communication is part of a larger question about business objectives. Brand perception contributes to client acquisition and perceived value of services, making brand positioning an important business decision for plastic surgery practices.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Aaker, J. L. (1997). Dimensions of Brand Personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 34(3), 347–356. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3151897
• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• König, L., & Jucks, R. (2020). Effects of Positive Language and Profession on Trustworthiness and Credibility in Online Health Advice: Experimental Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(3), e16445. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32154786/

Even though before-and-after photography is one of the most powerful assets a surgeon has for communicating their surgical results, a large audit of Instagram before-and-after photography found that approximately 40 percent of posts scored in a low-quality range on standardized quality criteria. This is an issue because patients may not fully separate clinical quality from the photographic quality when evaluating results online.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• Aldahlawi, S., & Al-Noury, K. I. (2024). Picture perfect: Standardizing and safekeeping clinical photography in plastic surgery. Annals of Medicine and Surgery.
• ElAbd, R., Alghanim, K., Alnesef, M., Alyouha, S., & Samargandi, O. A. (2023). Aesthetic surgery before-and-after photography bias on Instagram. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
• Plastic Surgery Specialists. (2021). Photographic Standards in Plastic Surgery.
• Shiah, E., Weidman, A. A., Valentine, L., Alvarez, A. H., Foppiani, J. A., & Lin, S. J. (2023). Capitalizing on social media: An evaluation of the public's preferences for plastic surgery social media content. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery.
• Soares, D. J., et al. (2022). Introducing the SEPIA scoring system: A tool for the assessment of standardization and quality in aesthetic surgery before-and-after photographs. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open.
• Ward, B., Ward, M., Friedman, O., & Paskhover, B. (2018). Nasal distortion in short-distance photographs: The selfie effect. JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

The visual presentation of a practice influences whether patients perceive it as a good fit. Sometimes, this evaluation is deliberate, such as when a patient recognizes imagery that reflects their age or aesthetic aspirations. More often, the response is immediate and intuitive: the clinic may feel too corporate, too casual, too aspirational, or excessively clinical.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2025). Branding in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery: Patient Perception of Branded vs. Unbranded Practices. ResearchGate. Exploratory study. ResearchGate.
• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• Hagtvedt, H., & Patrick, V. M. (2008). Art infusion: The influence of visual art on the perception and evaluation of consumer products. Journal of Marketing Research.
• Jiang, Y., Gorn, G. J., Galli, M., & Chattopadhyay, A. (2016). Does your company have the right logo? How and why circular- and angular-logo shapes influence brand attribute judgments. Journal of Consumer Research.
• Labrecque, L. I., & Milne, G. R. (2012). Exciting red and competent blue: The importance of color in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
• Morris, E. (2012). Hear, All Ye People; Hearken, O Earth. The New York Times.

Strong branding is associated with greater demand, premium pricing, greater resilience during market shifts, and stronger long-term financial performance.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ResearchGate, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: LinkedIn · Research · Book · Podcast · Substack · Email · Vitruviani

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2025). Branding in aesthetic plastic surgery: Patient perception of branded vs. unbranded practices. Exploratory perception study. ResearchGate.

• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• Bank, J., Feingold, R. S., Korn, P., Light, D., & Israeli, R. (2023). Branding a plastic surgery group practice: A case study. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
• Brandão, A., & Ribeiro, L. (2023). The impact of patient experience on loyalty in the context of medical-aesthetic health services. SAGE Open Medicine.
• Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. Putnam.
• Escalas, J. E., & Bettman, J. R. (2003). You are what they eat: The influence of reference groups on consumers' connections to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(3).
• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1).

Patients researching plastic surgery providers often move across websites, Instagram profiles, review platforms, YouTube channels, and Google Maps listings, forming their impression of the practice from all of them combined.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery marketing. Vitruviani.
• Han, X., Lin, Y., Han, W., Liao, K., & Mei, K. (2024). Effect of negative online reviews and physician responses on health consumers’ choice: Experimental study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26.
• rater8. (2025). How patients choose their doctors: 2025 report.
• RepuGen. (2024). Patient review survey 2024.
• Shiah, E., Weidman, A. A., Valentine, L., Alvarez, A. H., Foppiani, J. A., & Lin, S. J. (2023). Capitalizing on social media: An evaluation of the public’s preferences for plastic surgery social media content. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 83.

For many prospective patients, the first impression of a clinic is digital. Surgeons increase their chances of converting visitors into patients by ensuring their online presence is technically and visually as strong as possible, conveying an accurate image of the clinical practice.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• Dion, K., Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. (1972). What is beautiful is good. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Nielsen Norman Group. (2021). First impressions matter: How designers can support human automaticity.
• Rozin, P., & Royzman, E. B. (2001). Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review.
• Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error in psychological ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology.

Most patients have formed an opinion about the surgeon before they make contact. This episode covers what they're actually evaluating during the research phase, and why board certification ranks lower than most surgeons expect.

This episode is based on the book Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing by Jen Ahlsten. Available on Amazon and at vitruviani.com.

About the Author

Jen Ahlsten is a brand strategist and author specializing in luxury branding and marketing for plastic surgeons. She is the founder of Vitruviani and wrote ⁠Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing⁠.

She publishes educational content on how branding functions as a long-term commercial asset in plastic surgery. Her 2025 study, available on ⁠ResearchGate⁠, compares how patients perceive branded and unbranded plastic surgery practices across five dimensions, including trust, intent to book, and willingness to pay a price premium. Ahlsten's background is in marketing and fine art.

Selected publications and resources: ⁠LinkedIn⁠ · ⁠Research⁠ · ⁠Book⁠ · ⁠Podcast⁠ · ⁠Substack⁠ · ⁠Email⁠ · ⁠Vitruviani⁠

Sources

• Ahlsten, J. (2026). Eminence: The New Standard for Plastic Surgery Marketing. Vitruviani.
• Chen, S., et al. (2023). Patient Perspectives on Selecting an Academic Aesthetic Surgeon: A qualitative analysis. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 91(6), 674–678.
• Google. (2024, May 14). Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you.
• Orbit Media Studios. (2026). The AI-Search Adoption Survey.
• rater8. (2025). How patients choose their doctors: 2025 report. Commercial patient survey of 1,008 U.S. adults.