Different Types of

Briefs
A wonder of human nature by Sir Hamish Campbell

Contractual Brief
This is a legal document created between the client and the
employee. It displays the deities required by the company. Its a
document which states the expectations of the client, the prices
they agree on and the payment terms.
Pros: Contractual briefs give the company an idea of what the
client want the company to achieve, whilst also keeping a secure
price range in which the employer and the client will settle on a
set income with the employer through the contractual brief.
Cons: The client could be given a lot of work by the employer
which could strain them and also with advertising there is a lot of
creativity required and if there is a heavy workload then the
creativity could be hindered.

Negotiated
This brief is where the employer and the client will come
to a specified agreement upon the project brief, this will
include both the final ideas of the two. The client and
the employer need to agree on the final brief, or it will
cause future problems.
Pros: Ideas from both the client and the employer are
contributed to the final brief so they are both happy
with it.
Cons: The employer and the client could disagree which
could mean that the employer could loose work.

Formal
A formal written brief is a document that includes detailed information
about what the client wants the company to achieve. It is usually a
straightforward document, which refrains from including any unwanted
information. The brief itself may not always be classified as a legal
document.
Pros: An advantage is that as the document itself is clear, as well as
concise, as it lacks in any form of complexity, refraining from including
extended legal terms within its theses. Also, as it is not always a legalbinding document, the company can express their opinions, as well as
having the ability to work around the contract.
Cons: A disadvantage is that the contract is very general, as opposed to the
haphazard structure of a regular contract, which is explained in a lot more
detail. The employer as well as the client, may disagree on the terms of
each others decisions, and opinions which are listed in the contract.

Infromal
A informal brief is less professional than that of a traditional brief,
where it outlines the project verbally, as this particular type of brief
does not require any means of a written document. There is a
discussion conducted between the client and the employer, where they
will come to a general agreement over the details of the contract.
Pros: A advantage is that there is no real guideline to the brief, it is very
free, and the employer will be allowed to manoeuvre and influence their
own opinions into the document, before the client finalises it.
Cons: A disadvantage would be that the expectations proclaimed by the
client may interfere with the ethos of the employer, who may not want
to perform a task that involves a heavy workload, which may disinterest
the client into giving them work, and they may look elsewhere for an
individual to complete their project.

Commission
This is where a large corporation, such as The Daily Mail, employ an independent
company to create their product/project for them. It is notable that this type of
brief is negotiated between two media companies, as opposed to an external
client, who may receive the product once it has been established.
Pros: An advantage is that the independent production company will be paid for
creating the specific product, and may receive a fraction of the profit that is
generated by the product once it has been distributed to the intended consumer,
also known as the target audience of the product.
Cons: A disadvantage for this might be that when the product has been
launched, the large company may develop a sense of corporate greed, not
giving the independent institution enough credit for their contribution, or paying
them a sufficient amount of money for their hard work. This creates an unfair
advantage, which may lead the independent business to complain to the large
company, and will prevent them from working for the giant corporation in the
future.

Tender
A client will produce an advertisement stating that they require a media product to be
created. A potential employer, such as a production company, initiates a brief, a
budget, as well as a proposal, which is then pitched to the client in order to secure
their chance of obtaining the work that was previously advertised by the employer.
The client decides upon the most impressive proposal featured from their group of
candidates.
Pros: An advantage could be that as there is a lot of competition, the employer will be
more determined and motivated to produce a high-quality proposal, that will secure
them the work from the client, therefore, making them more productive as a
company, as they will be thinking of the income in which they will receive upon the
completion of the project/product.
Cons: Because of the competition, an employer is likely to be disheartened over losing
the work set by the client, to another company. It can be difficult for an employer to
gain work, due to the other employers, who also want to get the job. A company has
to expect failure, so that they can then look for temporary employment elsewhere.

Competition
A brief which is created in order to be accessible to all of the production
companies which are participating in creating a project/product. It is notable that
each corporation completes their own brief, outlining their ethos. All of the
finished projects created by these companies are judged, and the most
impressive one is crowned winner, and is taken into publication by the client.
Pros: An advantage may be that because of the heavy competition, the employer
will strive to pitch themselves to the client in the most sufficient way, behaving
in a professional manner, which is likely to impress the client, and may, in turn,
provide the employer with work.
Cons: Even though this type of brief is generally free to join, the winner of the
competition may have to pay a fee for being crowned victorious, as opposed to
the runner-up. There is a slight possibility that the winner may be unhappy with
siphoning out some of their income to the client. However, this is a part of the
job, and they will have to learn to accept it if they want to pursue a career within
this specific field of work.