The Third Door Approach: Physical Magazine Outreach
In a digital world dominated by email outreach and LinkedIn messages, physical objects have become a powerful "third door" for making memorable impressions. This story explores how creating a beautifully designed physical magazine opened doors to high-level executives who would have ignored digital outreach.
Digital Fatigue Creates Opportunity
For the agency LCA (Late Checkout Agency), reaching C-suite executives at major companies presented a significant challenge. These decision-makers receive hundreds of digital messages daily, with gatekeepers filtering most attempts at connection. Traditional outreach methods were yielding diminishing returns.
The solution? Create something physical, beautiful, and valuable that couldn't be ignored.
The Magazine Strategy
Rather than sending another cold email or LinkedIn message, the team spent several weeks designing a high-quality print magazine about "Designing Products in an AI Age" - a topic directly relevant to the target executives.
The magazine was:
- Professionally designed with "chef's kiss" level of polish
- Printed on premium paper with excellent production quality
- Focused on providing genuine value through insights and analysis
- Personalized for each recipient
Why It Works Better Than Digital Outreach
This approach succeeds for several reasons:
- Physical objects can't be easily ignored - Unlike an email that can be deleted in seconds, a beautiful magazine sitting on a desk demands attention
- Demonstrates investment and seriousness - The effort and cost signal genuine interest in the relationship
- Bypasses digital gatekeepers - Physical mail often reaches executives directly
- Creates a tangible reminder - The magazine might sit on a desk for weeks, creating multiple opportunities for engagement
- Shows rather than tells - Instead of claiming design expertise, the magazine demonstrates it directly
Results: Meetings That Would Never Have Happened
While specific details remain confidential, this approach secured meetings with executives at major companies who would never have responded to digital outreach. The ROI on the magazine production costs was enormous compared to typical marketing spend.
The Lesson: Third Door Thinking
This project exemplifies what's called "third door thinking" - finding alternative pathways when conventional approaches aren't working. If the first door (formal applications/outreach) and the second door (connections/referrals) aren't available, create a third door.
Other examples of "third door" approaches include:
- Sending cookies to a hiring manager after applying for a job
- Finding someone on Strava or other hobby platforms instead of LinkedIn
- Sending $1 on Venmo with a note instead of an email
In a world of digital noise, physical objects and unexpected approaches create distinctiveness that conventional methods can't achieve. The key is matching the approach to your strengths and the context of the person you're trying to reach.
By investing in creating something beautiful and valuable without being asked, you demonstrate both capability and seriousness in a way that generic outreach never could.
