A brief is a legal document or meeting that outlines an agreement between parties. There are several types of briefs including contractual, formal, informal, co-operative, negotiated, commission, tender, and competition briefs. Contractual briefs define expectations between a client and company. Formal briefs provide detailed client requirements while allowing room for company creativity. Informal briefs involve verbal discussions rather than written documents.

1. Briefs
CHARMAINE HARRIS

2. What is a Brief?
 A brief is either a legal document, meeting or both which is bound
together by law and can be presented to the court of England if the brief is
breached or unsuccessful in worst cases.
 The idea of having a brief is to create an understanding between parties or
individuals that is sometimes given rules that the person who agrees to a
brief often follows by.
 A brief often contains relevant facts for example what is required or rules
and other information.

3. Contractual Brief
 A contractual brief is a legal document which is created between an
employee and a client. It outlines the duties that are going to be required
by the company and how the company will organise their work. This
document states the expectations of the client, so the prices they agree on
as well as the payment terms.
 Advantages of a contractual brief is that it shall be good for the media
company involved as they will know exactly what they will be doing as the
brief can be very detailed.
 However disadvantages of a contractual brief is that if the media company
was to think that there was any issues within the brief and only produced
the product to their own standard, this would mean that they are not
meeting the standards set by the client and then the client could take legal
action against the company.

4. Formal Brief
 A formal brief is a document that includes detailed information about what
the client wants the company to achieve. It’s normally a straightforward
document which refrains from using any unwanted information. This brief
may not always be classified as a legal document.
 An advantage in a formal brief is that the client is open to any ideas or
issues that might occur. This can make the work more creative for the
company as there is room for negotiation.
 A disadvantage in a formal brief is that the company may feel that the
client might’ve not offered enough information for the company to
complete the product to a standard that the client would wish it to be like.

5. Informal Briefs
 An informal brief is a less professional than most of the traditional briefs,
this outlines a product more verbally as this type of brief doesn’t require
any means of a written document. There is a discussion between the
company and the client when they will come to an overall agreement over
the details of the contract.
 An advantage in an informal brief is that the employer will be allowed to
manoeuvre and influence their own ideas into the product before the
client agrees with the final outcome.
 A disadvantage in an informal brief is that the expectations set by the
client may interfere with the ideas of the company, this could be that the
company doesn’t want to go overboard and create too much for the final
product. This could mean that the client goes elsewhere, where the
business will do the project for the company.

6. Co-Operative Brief
 A co-operative brief is when two or several companies are employees to
create a product set from a brief which will be created in unison as a team.
The project would have to be done by a set deadline otherwise there will
be a dissatisfied client and they may not employ those companies again.
 An advantage in a co-operative brief is that there are more perspectives
and ideas to creating the product as there is more than one company
helping create the product.
 A disadvantage in a co-operative brief is that by having different
companies work together can lead to more disagreements and conflicts in
the ideas given by each company.

7. Negotiated Brief
 A negotiated brief is where the client and the employer come to an
agreement on the brief of the project set, this will include the finalised
ideas of both the company and the client. It is important that the brief is
completely agrees upon by both the company and the client, otherwise it
can cause problems in the future.
 An advantage in a negotiated brief is that certain points in the brief can be
negotiated, which means that the project is more open for negotiation.
 A disadvantage in a negotiated brief is that it can sometimes waste time as
unnecessary issues are brought up.

8. Commission Brief
 A commission brief is where a large company such as The Daily Mail
employ an independent company to create their product for them. 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.
 An advantage in commission brief is that the larger company doesn’t have
to do any work. The larger company can them sub-contract the work that’s
set in the brief, this means that both companies will receive money from
the final product.
 A disadvantage in a commission brief is that there are two different
companies working on one project there could be some conflicts, but
because the brief isn’t negotiated with the clients, the product may not be
to the clients standard.

9. Tender Brief
 A tender brief is when a client produces an advertisement stating that they
require a media product to be created. Then a potential employer, such as
a production company, would create a brief, budget and a proposal to
which is then pitched to the client. The client would then decide on the
most impressive proposal from the group of candidates.
 An advantage in a tender brief is that the client is able to look at many
different ideas for their product from different companies and
perspectives.
 A disadvantage in a tender brief is that if a companies pitch is turned down
by the client it can set that company back in business an they may find I
third to find work.

10. Competition Brief
 A competition brief is created in order to be accessible to all of the
production companies which are participating in creating the product.
Each company would create their own brief outlining their ideas. All
finished products are then judged, however only the most impressive is
crowned the winner and is taken into publication by the client.
 An advantage in a competition brief is that the client only has to pay the
winning production company. But by having lots of companies showcase
their products to the clients means that they have a variety of products to
choose from including the businesses own interpretations.
 A disadvantage in a competition brief is the same as the tender brief, in
the way that they may be set back in business and struggle to find work.