Analysis Shows CoolSculpting.com Delivers Most Referrals to Surgeons

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, April 20, 2013 (Press-News.org) Coolsculpting.com generates more online patient referrals for board-certified plastic surgeons than any other aesthetic medical device or aesthetic pharmaceutical manufacturer, according to an analysis recently conducted by Etna Interactive, a leading medical marketing agency. The CoolSculpting procedure, developed and marketed by ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc., is designed to safely, noticeably, and measurably reduce the fat layer.

Etna Interactive examined online referral sources for a random sample of 50 plastic surgeons for January 2013. Not only did coolsculpting.com generate more patient referrals, those visitors spent more time on the physicians' sites and viewed more pages than visitors referred by Google.

"The finding was remarkable," says Ryan Miller, president of Etna Interactive. "In our random sample of 50 practices, only 14 offer CoolSculpting. Even though every practice examined offers popular neurotoxins, fillers and lasers, coolsculpting.com emerged as the most prolific source of patient referrals."

Those patient referrals can make a significant difference in revenue for an aesthetic practice, according to Miller. "In our experience," he says, "doctors want more than the device. They want help creating demand. CoolSculpting appears to lead the pack in driving consumer demand."

Allergan's www.natrelle.com generated the second-most patient referrals to physicians' websites.

Mark Foley, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZELTIQ, said, "These findings highlight the ongoing evolution of CoolSculpting as the medical community continues to recognize and adopt our patented cooling technology to reduce fat without surgery."

Mr. Foley added, "Once physicians decide to offer CoolSculpting in their practices, our entire organization is committed to ensuring the success of CoolSculpting. We are very pleased to hear that CoolSculpting steadily drives new patients to our physician customers."

Dig deeper into the analysis and it becomes clear that coolsculpting.com's impact extends beyond the sheer quantity of referrals to the quality of the site visits. Visitors referred by coolsculpting.com spent an average of 6 minutes on physician sites and visited 8 pages. On the other hand, visitors arriving from Google spent half the time - just 3 minutes - on the sites and visited less than 6 pages.

Miller says the success of coolsculpting.com in driving referrals to physician websites is the result of ZELTIQ's effective marketing partnerships with physicians, an effort Etna encourages in its white paper on Media Kits.

"For years, we've encouraged device and pharmaceutical companies to provide rich digital assets," says Miller. "The CoolSculpting media kits are one of the richest we've seen to support a physician's own marketing efforts and complimented with one of the most aggressive co-marketing programs in the industry."

About ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc.
ZELTIQ is a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its proprietary controlled-cooling technology platform. ZELTIQ's first commercial product, the CoolSculpting System, is designed to selectively reduce stubborn fat that may not respond to diet or exercise. CoolSculpting is based on the scientific principle that fat cells are more sensitive to cold than the overlying skin and surrounding tissues. It utilizes patented technology of precisely controlled cooling to reduce the temperature of fat cells in the treated area, which is intended to cause fat cell elimination through a natural biological process known as apoptosis, without causing scar tissue or damage to the skin, nerves, or surrounding tissues. ZELTIQ developed CoolSculpting to safely, noticeably, and measurably reduce the fat layer.

Etna Interactive is a digital Web design and consulting agency specializing in medical marketing. They offer advice and execute campaigns to connect surgeons, healthcare networks, and medical device manufacturers with interested patients and business prospects.