Comments on: Can the words “FREE” and “White Paper” live happily together?

By: Whitney

Whitney — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:51:54 +0000

There was a time when I would have said that uttering “free white paper” was redundant redundant (repetition intentional).

Recently, though, I’ve been running across a few too many vendors who are trying to charge for white papers. OR they make you jump through hoops — by way of requiring you to fill out LOTS of fields, or even talk to a sales rep — to get to white papers.

This fall, the corporation I contract for did pay for a white paper because it purported to deliver information our team was really in need of. Except, what we thought we were buying was a “report”. After we forked over the money, what we got was a 12-page white paper. And we didn’t get ANY of the information that the ad copy gave the impression the document would deliver. The company that authored the document lost a chance at our business — a contract that would meant $40K to $50K for them.

By: Jonathan Kantor

Jonathan Kantor — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:34:56 +0000

Mike, I’m not sure since it was given to me by a client for a project I worked on.

It’s difficult for me to verify since I don’t pay for, or have access to their site.

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:28:48 +0000

Hi Jonathan - Is that sample one that was freely provided to readers? I am guessing since it says sponsored by Tivoli, it was free??

By: Jonathan Kantor

Jonathan Kantor — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:09:46 +0000

While Gartner refers to their papers as “Research Notes”, IDC is still using the term white paper. Here’s an example of a security paper they co-authored with Tivoli that contains the label “white paper”.

http://www.whitepapercompany.com/pdfs/IDCWP.pdf

By: mario vellandi

mario vellandi — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:50:18 +0000

If one looks at how prevalent white papers are today, the term “FREE” makes it redundant and TO ME, devalues the image of the publisher. However, there are many users that aren’t aware of this and simply respond to FREE, are satisfied, and return for more…perhaps even to buy; which is great.

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:38:13 +0000

Hey Jonathan;

Analyst reports these days are not using the label white paper (at least not that I see).

But you are right, in that context, someone might pay.

I think the reason people use the word FREE is rather because it draws eyeballs.

Mike

By: Jonathan Kantor

Jonathan Kantor — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:27:38 +0000

I agree that the use of two terms “free” and “white paper” qualifies as an oxymoron, but I can think of situations where there is a charge for white papers.

Companies like Gartner Research, Forrester, and IDC charge for their white papers and related research, albeit as part of an annual subscription.

The fact that some companies are willing to use the terms “free” and “white paper” together in a promotion, speaks to the perceived high value that white papers hold in the business community.

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:42:59 +0000

Yes Mark — I was thinking something along those lines. - Mike

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:43:42 +0000

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