A brief is a descriptive a set of instructions and information given to a person or a group of people to follow. There are a number of different briefs that could be given to people such as a contractual brief or informal brief etc.
A contractual brief is a legal document written and created between the employer and client. The layout and format are both simple and easy to read which reduces confusion and uncertainty. A contractual brief is most commonly used in the creative media business as this document is descriptive; the document mentions time frame, pay deadlines and the job requirements. The document is great in the media business because large sums of money are involved in the process and this enables to them to know what they're getting themselves into. A disadvantage of the brief would be if the media company produced the products to their own standards and the client thought it they didn't follow the brief properly and not to their standards they would be able to take legal action and could result in bad feedback and reputation for the company as they are not completing projects accordingly.
Below is an example of a contractual brief.
The example shows that it is formal and descriptive. It's detailed enough for the employee to understand. The introduction allows them to know about the company and what they want to do. The list of requirements are what the client requests, so a set of instructions. The terms below show the legal side of the document, letting them know the terms and agreements.
Another brief is a negotiated brief. The negotiated brief is when the client is open to ideas given by the employee. It is most commonly used when the client doesn't know what they want or what to improve the brief. An advantage of this is that certain points in the brief are up to discussion and can be negotiated it is not liked by multiple people leading to a more successful product. But a disadvantage could also be that the time gets wasted negotiating issues that don't need changing and the production time is then delayed.
Below is an example of a negotiated brief.
The Informal Brief. This a brief that is not also documented but verbally expressed. It can be also written in a text or email. It usually a short discussion between the client and the company talking about the requirements and needs of the product and make an agreement. This is an advantage because if is talked about verbally there is more of understanding on what the client wants meeting the standards easily. But the disadvantage weighs out the advantage because there is not written documentation there is no proof to say that the client hired the company which means that they could fail to pay.
The Formal Brief. This brief is well set out and structured and have great grammar and punctuation. The document is well detailed but should also be thoroughly explained. To make it look professional it may have the clients logo. It is a very open brief and contains information to be able to produce the product. An advantage of a formal brief is that could be a creative platform for the media company as the brief is open to negotiation because the client is open to ideas. A disadvantage would be that the media company could have issues with the brief as they may not believe that the client has given them enough information to complete the project to their standards.
The Commission Brief. This brief allows a large media company to hire a smaller media company to do the majority of the work and then the larger company pass down to the client after the product has been made. The brief isn't usually negotiated between the client and the media company but instead between the two media companies involved. This partnership works out because both media companies get paid for their work and the smaller media company could also get the royalties. A big disadvantage would be that conflict may occur as there are two media companies involved they may have different ideas and contributions.
The Competition Brief. This brief is when the client puts out a brief publicly so it can be accessed by all media companies and it's up to them to follow the brief and it's requirements to produce a product. It is seen as a competition because all the media companies that create a product are against each other to get the client. The client has a major advantage because they only have to pay the winning company and have a lot choices to pick from. But a disadvantage of this is that none of the products submitted by the media companies meet the requirements meaning that they don't have an end product.
No comments:
Post a Comment