The Requirement of Working to a Brief

1. Working on the brief
Keerthi Swetha

2. Brief
A media brief is a document which summarises a client’s communications strategy and/or campaign objectives and requests solutions
to meet its objectives. It may be circulated by the client or its media agency to media owners, who respond with proposals outlining
how they intend to achieve the client objectives. Depending on the circumstances a proposal may include a combination of advertising
formats and platform. A media brief can be straightforward and precise, with a firm idea of which media are to be used and stating a
specific budget or optional levels of spend. Alternatively the brief might have fewer constraints, seeking innovative approaches from
media owners to fulfil its marketing objectives.
Importance of reading brief, starting any project it is important to read through the brief that you have been set because it will express
what the client wants, and so with this information you are more likely to create something that is appropriate for it’s purpose. From this
you are able to make notes on what is needed such as for recipe cards that express how they want these recipe card setting out using
metric rather than imperial measurements, numbering the method and the ingredients in order. Using interesting and creative designs
that will suit everyone.

3. Contractual
A contractual brief is a contract that explain what the rules are between both the client and the
worker. It tells you about the client wants from their job, this helps the worker to understand what
they want. For a contractual brief to work the worker would have to agree before they signed the
document. By signing it, it means that they agree on how much they are getting paid etc, you
couldn’t do a contractual that covers any legal issues that you may have. For a worker they would
have to make sure that they understand and agree to everything that has been put on the brief, if
not then it might be to late. You have to make sure it’s correct so that you don’t break any rules on
the contract, if you did then the client could sue you for your actions.
When you have a contract like this, it should help be an advantage because everything that you do
will be covered e.g. insurance . This contract can guarantee that you’ll be paid after doing the job,
by having a written document it means what you have signed for is what you will get which is safe
and helps you to meet your deadline straight away. Another advantage about having this contract is
that it outlines all the guidelines that the worker had to do, this makes it easier and clear so that they
can get on with the job without any hassle.
The disadvantages of having this contract is that it can be to controlling, this is because you and the
client might not get along with the rules of the contract. By not getting along it means it will take
longer to actually negotiate a contract, you want to be professional and have a deal but if your not
agreeing on the terms then it wouldn’t work out. For example on the client brief you want to get
along with the company because if not then you lose business and that client.

4. Formal
A formal Brief is a contract that lays down all the rules and regulations for the company
to follow, it’s normally from the client telling you what to do. It only tells you the
information that is needed for the project nothing else. This is similar to a contractual
brief because both the client and company have to agree on the regulations before they
go forward. The contract doesn’t always cover legal contracts which would be risky to
the company. Formal briefings can also be told to a larger group of people which can be
quite useful when getting a large project done.
It is known that a formal brief is very easy to read and helps the client to understand the
different aspects of the contract. It’s similar to the income brief where it’s nice and
relaxed which means the contract isn’t complicated to read, but instead quite easy
which means they can get the job done quickly and sufficiently. Another advantage is
that the contract can never be changed which means you don’t have to read about any
other new ideas but just the ones on the contract. By sticking to this contract it means
more people are able to stick to the contract without any distractions, this makes it look
more professional.
As the contract can never be changed it means that if the company want to buy more
resources for the project, then they couldn’t because of how fixed the contract is. To do
this you would have to pay for the products yourself, this would affect the companies
budget which can be more expensive altogether.

5. Informal
An informal brief is a something that has to be done together with the client. It would have to be set
out like a meeting so that they can cover most things about the project. An informal brief doesn’t
include a contract or any documents but the brief has to appeal to the company for them to go forward
without a contract. By discussing the brief it means there's no strings attached, which means the date
can be chosen at any point, this makes it less complicated.
The good thing about having an informal Brief is that there’s no strings attached, it’s easy and sets a
nice environment for the company and the client. These kind of meetings can be done quickly as it’s
just a discussion about what the project should be, whilst a normal contact meeting would be quite
long as it details all the rules and regulations of the contract. Another advantage of this would be you
can change ideas throughout which might make it easier for the client and the company. For the
client’s brief if we had an informal brief, it would be good as you can be creative and change your
recipes on the cards which might look better than the original idea.
The issue with having an informal brief is that it’s just a meeting which means all the details are
verbally told and not on a written document. When you have things written down on a written
document it helps people to feel comfortable knowing they will get paid. Sadly without a written
document you might not be paid and you can sue the client at all. This would link to the client’s brief
because if we are making the recipe cards and then they don’t want to pay us then we’ve wasted
money making the cards and also wasted our time when we could have done other projects with other
clients. Another disadvantage you be that it looks unprofessional to meet a client and not organise a
contract, by just talking it doesn’t seem as professional. By only being verbally told what to do, you
might easily forget some significant factors about the project which might make the product look quite
rubbish.

6. Commissions
When somebody commissions a brief they hire a separate independent media
company to create a product for them coming, formulating there own research,
proposals and ideas for the product which is then overseen by the commissioner, in
our case this doesn’t effect what we are creating as we have been given a formal
brief set by the client but in some cases if this had been commissioned the profits
would have had to be split between the company and its developers or the
independent company used.
This works well for the independent company because they are getting paid for doing
there job as well as the chance to have a share in the profits made by the company
meaning they are ending up with a healthy profit. In eyes of the company it works well
for them too because it means that they have the time to work on other projects at the
same time as they don’t have to be so involved in projects.
The company doesn’t get such an active role in the decision making for the product
and so they could end up with something very different to what they expected. You
may have to also share out profits with other investors and share folders in the
business meaning the profit that you get is a lot less than what you might have first
expected.

7. Negotiated
A negotiated brief is when two or more companies come to together to negotiate ideas about a project. When negotiating through the contract, they don’t
stop the discussion until they have an agreement altogether. The brief is all about going through the contract so that everything is fair between both
parties and the client, it allows new ideas to come forward for the project so that it can be the best quality. When negotiating they would have to make
sure that the ideas they produce are in the legal guidelines, if they broke any of this then they might get sued.
This helps to let you know what you are doing and what has been improved e.g. the theme and visual aspects of the project. This means both of the
companies and client can really grasp on what they want and need. Another advantage of a negotiated brief is that when you negotiate your ideas with
one another then it means that there will be less conflict but strong solutions. When negotiating through the contract, it helps to find new economic deals,
this is because if they discuss about spenditure etc. then they might find better ways to save money. By Negotiating ideas with the client it means that
you get to see a wider picture of what they want and have a better understanding.
A disadvantage of having a negotiated brief is that you can discuss about certain subjects to much, this can be quite draining and it wouldn’t help you to
get to the bottom of your problem. When both parties are negotiating about the contract then they might forget about the best deals that can come from a
contract. Instead the two parties just agree on a idea because they have been talking to much. Which means they don’t agree on what they want
altogether.

8. Negotiating
What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing discretion with a brief?
If the information on the brief is vague and left for your own interpretation can mean that you have freedom with what you produce. You have to make sure it fits
perfectly with the parts of the brief that is set but if parts are very vague then you can interpretation them yourself meaning you have a lot more freedom with your
ideas and ultimately your product. However, if your client interpretations that part of the brief differently they can refuse to pay you since you haven’t met the needs the
brief portray. It’s important you don’t change important parts of the brief or your work won’t be accepted or published. An important part of our brief is to use vegetarian
recipes so we can’t include meat in the meals. If we do then the cards won’t match the brief and the client will refuse the products.
There are some laws you need to think of before going into production. For example, Copyright. You can’t include anything that is copyrighted unless you have
permission by the creators of the item. If you give your product to the client when it is infringing copyright and they use it, it will result in them getting sued. They will
then sue you for giving them the product. Privacy laws and the race discrimination act needs to followed too. You can’t publish peoples private information or use their
lifestyle/stories as an example in a negative way. You need to ensure the brief fits the ASA regulations. For example, in our brief if they said it was not authorities to
include meat in the recipes then that would be false advertising because the products say they are suitable for vegetarians. False advertising is against ASA
regulations and they will remove the product from the public.
Why is it important to discuss the brief with your client prior to production?
If you have any queries or problems with the brief then you can clear them up before starting the production. If you start production and you’ve not understand the
brief properly then you can start to product that isn’t right. If the product doesn’t fit the brief then you won’t get paid. This will be a waste of time and money, you can
also discuss your idea and see if they match what your client had in mind. If they like your idea then it’s a green light that you are on the right track and can go ahead
and make the product. We could bring up theme and discuss about that see the suitable or not. If the client pleased with this theme then we can continue into
production, if not then we can reevaluate your ideas and change it until the client agrees with the recipes and theme.The Product
If the finished product isn’t of a high enough quality then you will need to redo some of it. This needs extra time which should be in your schedule as contingence time.
Similarly you could have to lower your ambitious of the product in order to finish it on time. You could of misjudged the time taken to complete a part of your work and
in response to that have to cut other parts out of your work. Reaching the deadline is more important.
Also ensuring you haven’t used anything that breaks the law like copyright infringement. If you have used something in you work that is copyrighted without getting the
companies permission then they will sue you.

9. Negotiated
The Product
If the finished product isn’t of a high enough quality then you will need to redo some of it. This needs extra time which should be in your
schedule as contingence time. Similarly you could have to lower your ambitious of the product in order to finish it on time. You could of
misjudged the time taken to complete a part of your work and in response to that have to cut other parts out of your work. Reaching the
deadline is more important.
Also ensuring you haven’t used anything that breaks the law like copyright infringement. If you have used something in you work that is
copyrighted without getting the companies permission then they will sue you.
The Budget
If the budget needs amending its most probably because the project will cost more than originally thought. If the project does go over budget
then there are multiple things you can do, ask for more money off your client and explain that your work has gone over budget. If they refuse
then you can make up the difference yourself or downscale your work. Remove some things so it costs less.
The Conditions
In the brief conditions include wages. It is important you sort out how much you are going to get paid for the project before you sign the
contract otherwise you will have to be paid that much. This is bad if the project overruns or requires more resources than you thought,
therefore costing you more. If you get paid less than it cost to produce then you are making a loss.

10. Competition
A brief that is left open to any company to take part in for any participating production
companies. As each company has the opportunity to complete the brief , which can
then be judged and assessed on their suitability for its end use, the chosen project is
then published by the company. This type of brief is seen as very similar to a tender
brief as the same elements are applied with the fact that many people can apply for
this project/role. Similarly to our own product is the fact that we have been set a brief
to create a set of recipe cards, as well as competition within the group to get the recipe
cards printed, which will be chosen by the client who set the brief for this project.
An advantage for the company is that most of the time these types are projects
become available through competitions or advertisements and the winning idea is
given a prize or paid in cash which can work out cheaper for the company then any
other way. As well as the fact that the company can take on other work on the side
meaning they are making more money as the business is expanding.
It means that after all that work put into each production company only one will get
chosen and paid meaning the others have make their projects for nothing without
prizes or being paid.

11. Tender
This very similar to somebody advertising a job advert, where by the
client publishes an advert showing that they need a media product to
be made, where by a number of production companies may pitch or
send in their brief and adaptations to what I'm the client is wanting to
try, showing the estimated cost and how the product may be produced
and get that bid and secure the project, it is then left to the client to
decide upon the which proposal they feel fits their needs and has
answered the brief in the best way.
The advantages to using this type of brief is that the client has access
to a number of different ideas that they not have first thought of, and
then they can choose between them or have the opportunity to build in
aspects of these different briefs to create a product that you want.
The disadvantage of using this type of brief of could be for the
companies that are wanting the project because not all the of these
companies that have applied will get the job.

12. Opportunities
Self Development this brief will allow the people of the group to work on there teamwork, discussion and negotiation skills within the
group, it also means that you will be able to develop your skills in the aspects of work that is required from you such as the graphic,
writing , photography and cooking of the recipes.
Learning new skills as well as giving people specific jobs to do, from our group we will have the opportunity to try out some of these
skills as well whether this is supervising the photographer or getting involved in the cooking of the food that we choose to create.
Another skill that we will learn is when it comes to working with a client, meaning it has to be to a professional standard, and maintain a
business like attitude to the work.
Multi-skilling within our group we will be doing different jobs between us e.g. One of our group members will be a photographer and
chef. Another one of our members are doing graphic design and copywriting. Combining the skills of us of our members they will
collaborate to create the graphics meaning teamwork will be key.
Contributing to a brief We will be making all the food products from our chosen recipes. As are theme is for elderly people, we think
making cakes will be a good option as it’s a product that everyone loves. We will be doing this by going to one of the members house
to produce this.