Boob jobs and facelifts used to be so exotic and starry that no interview with a Hollywood celebrity was complete without mention of one or the other. Now the age of elective cosmetic surgery has arrived in the Republic and the back pages of Irish women's magazines are the main media beneficiaries.
The latest advertiser is the Harley Medical Group, a London-based cosmetic clinic, which is opening in Dublin at the end of this month. It has unveiled a £250,000 press and radio campaign devised by DDFH&B.
The chairman of the Harley Medical Group, Mr Mel Braham, says: "It's not one of those before and after ads; they're too tacky." Instead the advertisements feature two beautiful women and the copy starts with the tried and tested line: "Unhappy about the way you look and feel is a problem you don't have to live with any more."
To the suggestion that the women look the least likely candidates for any of the procedures offered by the clinic, Mr Braham says "cosmetic surgery isn't for ugly people".
Advertising and marketing are important for cosmetic surgery clinics. The Harley Medical Group estimates that 60 per cent of its patients come to it through advertising. Market research has shown that potential clients are too embarrassed to go to their family doctor about a cosmetic matter and prefer the anonymity of contact through advertising. In the group's 10 UK clinics, women make up 60 per cent of the clients. Mr Braham expects the ratio in the Republic to be quite different, more of an 80/ 20 split.
The most popular operations for women are breast augmentation, liposuction and nose jobs. Men mostly go for liposuction and nose jobs. Prices start at around £2,500 for a nose job, with liposuction starting at £3,000, depending on the amount of fat to be removed. Cosmetic surgery advertisements always raise eyebrows among the Irish medical profession, whose only means of advertising is through a plaque on their door or a line in the Golden Pages.
Indeed, the advertisements operate in a grey area where the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) is concerned. The advertising code covers health and beauty advertising, but in the case of invasive procedures would require the copy to advise potential clients to seek independent medical opinion. The ASAI, however, is a reactive organisation.
The Harley Medical Group expects to receive up to 10,000 enquiries and to see 7,000 clients in its first year of operation in the Republic.
Avenue magazine is a new type of publication - a cross between a mail order catalogue and a glossy lifestyle magazine. The bi-monthly is being produced by Magalogue, a new publishing company. The idea is that most of the products mentioned in the articles can be ordered from a phone number at the end of each article. Companies pay to have their products included and advertising page rates are £3,900.
The print run for the 132-page publication is 185,000 and the first four issues will be distributed by The Irish Times starting on October 30th.
Mediaworks is to handle Marlborough International's media spend. The recruitment group's media spend during 1999 is £1.2 million. Media works is the media wing of Peter Owens.
Meanwhile Des O'Meara, Initiative Media, QMP and Mindshare are pitching for the £3 million Irish Life & Permanent media account.
There are three key rules to marketing services according to Mr Brian Hayes, director off treasury at Citibank - avoid jargon; do basic research into what your customer wants; and find out how the company is judged by its customers in terms of quality.
Mr Hayes was speaking at this month's marketing breakfast organised by the Marketing Institute and he went on to stress the role of marketing in financial services.
