2. Contractual Brief
Definition
A media corporation signs an agreement to carry out a project to make a set product, in a set time scale, with a set fee for them
to be paid.
If any of the above elements of the contract are breached by either the client or the media corporation commissioned to make
the product, legal action could be taken against the accused party. Sometimes it is a genuine mistake on one of the parties parts,
such as: lack of or too much pay or an added part to the brief, without giving the corporation extra time. In these cases, a
negotiation (mentioned later) will be set up to sort out the issue and hopefully resolve the problem raised.
It’s key that the contracts are read before they are signed, this is to ensure that the corporation don’t sign anything which will
disadvantage or affect them in the long run. This could be to do with the previously mentioned pay, time scale or terms of
contract.
Advantages
• If you have an issue with the brief or the work you are carrying out, as well as the terms, you can flag the issues, where as a
verbal contract wouldn’t allow you to query it, due to the agreement not been noted down.
• It’s legally binding and is pretty difficult for the client to get out of the terms.
Disadvantages
• For the company commissioned to create the product, they have to create exactly what ye brief says, not what they want.
Failure to do so may result in loss of money for this media company.
3. Formal Brief
Definition
A client produces a brief to give to the media company which they have commissioned to make a specific product. All this brief
does is establishes what they want them to make, the terms, like stated in the last section, will come later during the negotiation
section. The formal brief only contains the product the client wants producing, nothing more, any added information will be
discussed and then gained by the media company and later planned negotiation talks, where things like fees, time scales and
terms of contracts will be discussed. Even though this brief type does state information about a product, which are then
transferred between the two companies and then agreed on, it is not a legal binding contract as of yet, this comes later at
negotiations.
Advantages
• The company commissioned to make the product isn’t pressed into actually making the product yet, due to it not been
legally binding. Signing the contract before they’ve found out fees and time scales would not be beneficial to the
commissioned company, due to potential unfair terms been added by the client.
• It gives both parties time to think of terms top the contract, instead of been rushed into making unreasonable and unfair
terms.
Disadvantages
• A contractual contract with fees and time scales may not have been properly reviewed by the client, due to them wanting
the product quickly, so the commissioned company could potentially make more money if they had a contractual contract,
not a formal brief.
4. Informal Brief
Definition
This brief solely exists on a verbal contract, which no physical paper copy of the contract exists. Instead of having it written out in
terms of pay etc., it is discussed between the client and the media company who have been commissioned to make the product.
In certain circumstances, due to it been an informal brief, a completion date might not be set. This maybe due to the company
not wanting the product straight away, or the client is substituting some of the fee in exchange for more time.
Advantages
• This brief is relaxed and doesn’t put masses of pressure on either side, due to a time limit sometimes not been set. This can
however mean that the commissioned company take their time and keep the client waiting. On the other hand, if this does
happen, the client won’t give any future business to this company, so it’s not in the media companies interest to take a
long time.
Disadvantages
• This contract is a risky one because it doesn't have a set contract, so either party could try and exploit the other out of
money, time. This can sometimes get to the point of a lawsuit, especially if lost of potential money could be made by the
client company for the product.
5. Co-Operative Brief
Definition
This brief is explicitly designed for two or more companies and involves them getting hired by the client to design the same
product, which they will work together on. Occasionally a disagreement occurs between the two or more companies, which
will have to be resolved through a negotiation. The negotiation would involve the companies which aren't happy about the
brief, and dependant on the nature of the disagreement, the client may get involved also. The result of the negotiation will
be a new brief which will satisfy all the companies within the project. For this reason it would be beneficial for all the
companies to be a the negotiation, so they can agree and disagree with the new terms, until every term is complete.
Advantages
• The more companies that are involved, the faster you can finish the project
• Due to there been more than one company and the client, negotiation between the two could get you more money,
instead of the commissioned company being bullied by the client, with the threat of losing the project.
Disadvantages
• The overall fee will have to be shared by the companies, this will normally be a massive fraction of what you would have
received, had you got the contract on your own.
• The fast nature of the project means that you may be without work after the project. The longer you can be in a project,
the better, these are usually contracts you get on your own.
6. Negotiated Brief
Definition
Similar to the last brief type, if two or more companies have a disagreement, this brief will be the resultant one that they all
agree
on. This would mean a new brief would be created to please all parties involved in the project, this time it will involve the client,
due to the brief, which they created, been changed. This could entail the visual style of the product, which one company believe
won’t sell. A change of content, as well as making sure the given product is still within ethical and legal boundaries, if one, or all
the companies think the product is starting to drift down the illegal or unethical path. It is important for the companies to
resolve
the issues quickly and fairly, mainly for the clients sake, due to the continuation of the project after the negotiation has been
completed.
Advantages
• This brief allows the company and client to work together to get exactly what they want out of the brief. However, not
everyone can always get what they want and one or more companies must compromise.
• Legal and ethical issue can be resolved in this brief, however, it isn’t exclusively this brief that can change these aspects,
most briefs can, due to it been paramount to every company, not to get sued.
Disadvantages
• A deadlock of negotiations may ensue and the companies won’t be able to continue with the project, which they will be
losing money on by going into the deadlock, meanwhile, the client isn’t getting their product any faster in this scenario.
7. Commission Brief
Definition
This type of brief involves a large media organisation contracting or hiring an independent media company to design and
produce
a media product for them. This therefore means an external client isn’t involved in the first initial parts of the brief, so isn’t
involved in the negotiation of the brief due to this. However, a client may come into the negotiations later on, if the large media
company decide to sell their product on to external clients. This would then mean that these negotiations wouldn’t involve the
independent company, just the client and the large media company, unless otherwise agreed in the previous negotiation.
Of course, a fee will be paid to the independent company, for the product they have provided, but may not receive the products
profits, unless they have negotiated a cut with the large company at the negotiation stages.
Advantages
• This brief gives the smaller companies business, not just the big companies which other briefs focus on. This brief needs
one company in it to be small, due to a big company outsourcing work to it, where as two large companies wouldn’t work
like that. They would either use this brief or produce products ‘in house’.
• Unlike the co-operative and negotiated briefs, this brief is between two companies and therefore is less likely to
breakdown over unfair terms, due to the number of companies been low.
• Everyone is getting a financial fee j some way. Even though it benefits some more than others, everyone is getting a few of
some sort.
Disadvantages
• For the small company, it doesn’t seem fair that the money they receive should be less than the larger media company, due
to them making the product. However, the large media company does arrange all these deals with clients, so are earning
the money they get. Furthermore, if the independent company was good enough in negotiations,, they ould get a cut of
the profit, not just the initial fee for the product.
8. Tender Brief
Definition
This kind of brief is unique to all the others, and is slightly similar to a competition brief. This brief involves a client publishing an
advertisement, whether it be internet or poster form, that they need a product to be made.
After this, a range of production companies will design a proposal and a financial breakdown of costs, which will then be pitched
to the client. If this client is a big and successful client, there might be a range of companies competing for this contract, due to
the financial gain, while a future contract may be available if they complete the task to a high standard. The final stage of this
brief
involves the client selecting the best proposal and offer from the production companies. While the potential financial gain the
client could earn, they also must think about the cost of the project, is it too near to the profit made? Is this companies fee
feasible and will the project survive with this company?
Advantages
• This brief allows the client to get a company that will actually do the job, not just a company that they have met for
negotiation. This is due to all the other briefs not requiring independent or production companies to pitch their ideas,
therefore, the client can’t be 100% certain they’ve got a reliable company. On the other hand, a pitch doesn’t make a
company reliable, it just makes them good sales representatives.
Disadvantages
• Sometimes in the media industry, and in other industries also, when a client is looking for a product, they hold these
pitches from production companies and then pick their friends ideas. This is very beneficial to the client, due to them
getting the product, while also gaining knowledge in other ideas from other production teams. This may however backfire,
if the clients friends company isn’t reliable or doesn’t have enough knowledge/man power to complete the task.
9. Competition Brief
Definition
This brief type is an unusual and unique brief, compared to every other brief. The competition brief is open to all production
companies to participate against one another for the one opportunity of making a product for the client. This brief, unlike the
others, doesn’t require just one company to make a product, every company who wants to participate makes one. After the
entry
stage, the client then reviews the products, in this case a media product, and judges one piece to be the winner. This
competition
is usually free to enter, due to the client wanting a lot of entries for this competition. Even though some of the entrants maybe
strong, the client only has to pay the winner of the competition brief, only if there was a financial incentive in place. Sometimes
another perk is the reason for the competition, but if it’s not a great reward, companies may decide to not enter and the client
will have few entries and little choice.
Advantages
• In the clients point of view, there is not an aspect in which they are losing. They get to look at many ideas and could take
some as their own, due to them not been patented yet, as well as getting a final product also. As for the financial loss, this
type of brief doesn’t usually offer much if any reward.
Disadvantages
• The production companies will only benefit if they are a small production company and not a large, big profit making
company. However, if they were a big production company, they wouldn’t bother entering in the first place.
• Little cash incentive for the production companies
• Again, like the tender brief, the client could pick their friends entry. As well as this, the production companies making the
products could get their friends and employees to vote for them, if it’s a voted competition.
10. My Brief
Which type of brief is being used in the recipe card project? Explain your response.
The vegetable society brief is an example of a formal brief. I think this because it has the things you need to complete, time
scales
etc. While it does have elements of a contractual brief, it doesn’t actually feature a contract as such. The next stage of this brief
will now be to negotiate the brief with the client, which will uncover things like: time scales, cost and terms of contract, before I
sign the contract.
Features the brief has to suggest a formal brief:
• The formal language that is used
• The lack of fees and time scale explained, which rules out a contractual brief
• Not mentioning another company or future client, so a co-operative and tender brief is ruled out.
11. Reading the Brief
Why is important to thoroughly read your brief?
The main reason you read a brief thoroughly is to ensure you don’t miss anything asked of you, while also ensuring that the
terms
of the brief are reasonable and clear. The terms and guidelines may come at the negotiation stage, but you still must read the
brief, just in case they are included. If they are, these can be negotiated when I meet the client at a negotiation meeting, where I
will ask all the question I want to ask regarding the brief.
Things that could be included which you must read and query if necessary:
• The fees
• The time scale
• The specific instruction of a product
• The guidelines you must follow
• All the legal and ethical terms (this could be things raised, like the need for it to be vegetarian and some to be vegan, but it
could be legal and ethical issues that you raise in the negotiation which could occur).
12. Reading the Brief
What is the nature of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief?
The vegetarian brief comes across as formal. You get this idea, due to such lines as: “measurement abbreviations should be used
without explanation”. This particular line gives the idea that the Vegetarian society is a company that know exactly what they
want
and they want a company that works to the maximum potential for them. Even though every client what’s this element form a
production company, the clear and formal language helps to portray the vegetarian society in a more professional way than
other
companies would.
What a formal and professional brief, like the vegetarian society, needs to fulfil a formal nature brief
• Professional and formal language
• Clear and concise paragraphs, they shouldn’t be too short or long, which could lose the attention of the consumer of the
brief.
What is the demand of the Vegetarian Recipe Cards brief?
• 100% recycled paper, which is strongly recommended to be 350gsm paper stock, while 3,500 of them will be printed at a
time.
• An interesting and creative idea for the recipe cards
• It must be vegetarian, while some of the recipes should be also vegan also
• A certain theme COULD be used (this is not a demand, just a strong recommendation)
• Inclusion of Serving numbers, cooking time and vegan suitability should be included in the recipe
• List every ingredient on new lines, while putting the measurements in metric, not imperial
• Use the different rule for putting ‘grams’ and ‘tablespoons’, this is how other recipes are set out (“Measurement
abbreviations should be used without explanation”)
• Keep the method points as simple as possible
13. Negotiating a Brief
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?
A negotiation before the initial design and production is key because it irons out the finer details of the brief, while also:
• Allowing you to ask the client some questions about:
• Fees
• Legal and ethical
• Time length to complete
• Terms of contracts (depending on the formality, a contract might not be necessary)
It’s also important because:
• If you don’t address the client about the brief and go ahead and make the product, if wrong, the client doesn’t have to pay
you.
• The client may want to ask you question about your past projects, just to check credibility. Fees for the cost of the project
may also be the subject of the talk.
14. Negotiating a Brief
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?
Advantage
• It allows room for manoeuvre with the type of product you can make – In this brief, I can't really manoeuvre the fact that
the products I’ll be making will have to be vegetarian.
• The creativity of me will be more varied – If you have to create a specific product, some creativity of making various
designs will be lost. However, due to me not making many designs, time will be saved and therefore, money will be saved.
• It makes you want to work with a client again – If the client is lenient and lets you create a product you want, you will be
more inclined to create a better product in the long run, while working with the client again will be ore of a possibility.
Disadvantage
• Loss in pay – If you don’t make a product the client wants, they will not pay you. This will therefore transpire that time will
have been wasted and potential profit and money will be lost.
• Future project might be ruined – If you go into a project believing all future projects will be like this, you may end up
ruining future projects. However, there’s always a risk in doing so.
15. Negotiating a Brief
Are there any potential legal/ethical/regulatory issues with the Vegetarian Society brief’s
proposed product?
Legal
• The logo chosen for this project will need to be created and checked for copyright or plagiarism
• All the photographs used to accompany the recipes will need to be sourced from a unattached photography library or
taken by myself
• The house style and font will need to be checked, just in case it’s been exclusively used by a specific company
Ethical
• Recipes must be vegetarian
• Some recipes must be vegan
• The paper used must be 100% recyclable
• Vegetable inks can be used
16. Negotiating a Brief
Amendments you have considered to;
The Product
• The product might be too ambitious and instead might need to be amended to makes sure I meet deadlines. Initially, I was
going to do recipes from the same theme, but due to the time wasted thinking of various ideas, I could have made the set
amount of dishes required and photographed them. This will definitely need to be addressed because it’s the difference
between the failure and success of this task.
The Budget
• To make these dishes, it’s going to be more expensive than I thought. A the start of the project, while scan reading the
brief, I though it was only meant for vegetarians. However, as I’ve later discovered, vegan approved recipes should be
thought of too. This wouldn’t be a problem as long as vegan isn’t more expensive than normal produce, however, it is. This
will then prompt more money been required for the completion of this task, which will need to be negotiated in the
negotiation meeting with the vegetable society.
The Conditions
• Due to the project costing more than I thought, I will need to have a figure that mirrors that increase in price. However, as
of yet, fees and figures haven’t been discussed and the negotiation will bring talk of finance. As for the terms of the
contract, they haven’t been discussed either, so will need to be discussed in negotiation also. At least one thing will need to
be amended in the project, which the client will potentially agree to.
17. Opportunities
What opportunities could this brief allow you to explore? Be specific with your responses. This
brief is quite different to others you have come across and offers lots of new experiences. Check
the unit overview to help you with this.
Self Development
• My negotiation skills will be developed, even though I’m not properly negotiating a deal, all the different brief work (first 10
slides) will help me to understand me develop.
Learning new skills
• We learnt all the job functions and roles in Unit 11, but this unit will allow me to plan these roles and if I was running the
project for real, putting them into practice. So, furthering my knowledge of roles will be one new skill I’ll learn over the
course of this project.
Multi-skilling
All these skills will be learnt, which will, together, will be counted as multi-skilling
• Research
• Design
• Production
Contributing to a brief
• All the other briefs I’ve had either don’t require you to make something for a client, or don’t require the same amount of
skill, regarding briefs. Also, unlike others, this brief must be followed to the letter, with no room for manoeuvre on the
requirements of the brief.
