ContractualDefinition

‘A contract brief is between the client and employees. The contractual brief explains the duties required and how the company's schemes its work. The contractual brief explains how the much employee will receive. The contractual brief includes areas such as what the employee is agreeing before signing it. A contractual brief must also include the general liability insurance. It is a legal contract between advertising companies and its client which describes the duties required as well as the price and payments terms.’http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_contractual_brief A contractual brief is a type of brief or contract where a media company is employed by the client in order to complete a project which is set to specific guidelines which the media company must follow. It will be very important for the media company to follow these guidelines and do exactly what the client states within the brief, if they fail to do so this can result in a breach of contract and the company could face legal actions.Advantages

Having a contractual brief will be good for the media company involved as they will know exactly what the project is and what they are being asked to do as the brief will be very detailed and go into specifics that are not to be negotiated.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage if this type of contract would be that if the media company think that there are issues within the brief and they produce the product to their own standards this would not be producing the product to the standards set by the client and they could decide to take legal action and this could result in your company having a bad reputation for not completing projects to a set brief.

Communication:

Communications on a contractual brief would be very strict and most probably been agreed to dates and times on the contract. These meetings would be organised and gets strait to the point so they’re able to finish what needs to be done.

Time management:

They would already have set up a certain date and time limit to follow and get everything done in the time given.

Technical skills:

The company would have to have the correct equipment to be able to get the tasks done fast and suiting the briefs needs.

Career progression:

NegotiatedDefinition

This type of brief will be brought up if the co-operative brief given to the two or more media companies that are competing on the project have any issues between themselves about the brief or anything they would like to clear up with the client. Through the negotiations the brief can then be changed in order to suite every party taking part in the production. This could be anything from changing the appearance of the product to changing the products content as well as keeping it to the guidelines set in the brief.

Advantages

Within this brief the fact that certain points can be negotiated means that the project is more open to suggestions from multiple perspectives which could make the product more successful over all

Disadvantages

Negotiating the brief can sometimes waste time is unnecessary issues are brought up that the client believes do not need to be tackled and this can delay the production time of the product.

Communication:

For a negotiated brief there would be a lot of communication in form of meetings and or phone calls, in order for everyone to be on the right path and for it to be changed to suit every company taking part.

Time management:

The companies would have to take allot of time out in able to have as many meetings as they need and give each other schedules or times that they’re free.

Technical skills:

I don’t think any certain technical equipment would be very important as different routes may be taken.

Career progression:

FormalDefinition

‘Formal PM is defined as: completing a project on paper before the actual project begins, creating a detailed plan, and then executing the project according to that plan. In a formal project management environment, the project manager must follow procedures and practices as defined by an imposed standard, such as that of the PMI. These project management techniques are driven by rules. The emphasis is on following the plan.’http://www.globalknowledge.ie/content/files/documents/white-papers/pm/231458 This is where a media company is given a brief by the client which outlines the product which they want to be made. This brief is very open and only gives enough information to be able to produce the product, any issues or information that the media company would like to go over can be discussed during the negotiations with the client. Both the client and the company employed by them will formally agree on the project and the brief but it cannot always be legally binding.

Advantage

Having this type of brief means that the client is open to any ideas or issues if there are any that could be raised by the media company that is employed, this makes the work quite creative for the media company and there is room for negotiation.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this type of brief are that the media company may feel that the client has not offered enough information for them to complete the product to the standard that the client wishes. Also the fact that the brief is not always legally binding could bring up problems within the project with things such as financial issues or a breach of contract.

Communication:

For this type of brief there would be a lot of sit down meeting in a precise and professional manor. If a company was to make an advert for a big company like ‘Nike’ for example, I would class this as a formal brief as we’re trying to promote the products.

Time management:

Everything would be planned out perfectly and have an end date which they would complete the product by.

Technical skills:

You would have to know the perfect camera angles to make the product look as good as possible, e.g. trainers or their sportswear. In a Nike advert there would most likely be allot of exercise and sports to show off the products and clothes even further, and show how good they look and they can fit to your workouts etc. So you would have to know how to capture movement, and what settings you would have to use.

Career progression:

InformalDefinition

An informal brief is not documented and is usually of the verbal kind. It is where the client and the company which they have employed simply discuss the requirements for the product they will be making and ultimately agrees upon the project.

Advantages

The advantages to this type of brief is that there is more verbal communication between the client and the company they are employing which could mean that the media company will understand fully exactly what the client is asking of them and they should be able to complete the project to the client’s standards easily.

Disadvantages

The fact that there is no written documentation or contract to prove the employment of the company could mean that at the end of the project the client could easily fail to pay their employees. Also this could mean that certain things like deadlines are not completely clear and this can cause confusion for both parties.

Communication:

This type of brief would have allot of communication directly from the client to the company

Time management:

The time management would be organised but flexible with the company and client.

Technical skills:

Career progression:

CommissionDefinition

This brief is where a large media company will employ an other independent media company to create and produce the product for them, and after the product has been made the larger company may go on to be use the product for an external client who will pay the independent media company

for making the product and they could even get a cut of the royalties too. The brief is not negotiated between the company and the client, however is negotiated between the two media companies.

Advantages

This type of brief means that the larger companies do not have to do as much work due to employing smaller companies to half the work. They can sub-contract the work that is set in the brief out to another company and each company will both receive money for the work they have contributed to the making of the product.

Disadvantages

This type of brief could mean that because there are two different companies working on the same product there could be some conflicts, but because the brief is not negotiated with the client, the product made may not be to the client’s standards.

Communication:

Time management:

Technical skills:

Career progression:

TenderDefinition

This is where a client will advertise their brief and a production company will bring together a proposal that they will pitch to the client, there could be multiple pitches to the client from many different companies, so the client will then get the chance to choose the proposal that they think best suits their brief and offer the job to that production company.

Advantages

The advantages of this brief is that the client will be able to look at many different ideas for their product from different companies perspectives and in effect will be able to produce their product to a very high standard if one of the pitched ideas stands out above all of the others.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage of this type of brief is that if a company’s pitch is turned down by the client this can set them back in business as it is very hard to gain work in this day and age. The business may have been very optimistic in thinking that the client would have accepted their proposal and could have gone as far as to decline any work that they were offered in the time that they would have been working on this project.

Communication:

Time management:

Technical skills:

Career progression:

Co-operativeDefinition

Within this type of brief there are usually two or more companies that are hired by the client to work to the brief they have written for the specific project they want to be completed. After both companies have received the brief they can then proceed to work together to produce the product. If there is a disagreement or conflict in ideas there can be a negotiated brief in order to resolve these issues.

Advantages

Having this type of brief means that there can be different perspectives and angles on creating the product and therefore means that the brief can be more understood than if there were only one company working on the project.

Disadvantages

This type of brief can be more prone to disagreements and conflict in the ideas being given by each of the different media companies that have been employed by the client.

Communication:

Time management:

Technical skills:

Career progression:

CompetitionDefinition

This is where a client puts their brief out so it can be accessed by all of the different production companies, each company can then complete the brief, hoping that their end product will be chosen by the client.

Advantages

The advantage is that the client only has to pay the one chosen production company. Also the fact that they have multiple companies producing a product means that they have a large choice of products and possibly new angles and ideas to the end product and can choose the one that they believe will be the most successful.

Disadvantages

A disadvantage of this is the same as the disadvantage of a tender brief; the companies that are turned down by the client have wasted their time and money

http://www.slideshare.net/cikkikay2/working-to-a-brief-proforma

Communication:

The media companies would have to book time with the client in order to get across or ask any questions to find out more in depth what they need, but they would also be left to their own devices to create the product.

Time management:

These companies would have to stick to a strict deadline as they would have to finish the end product at the same time so then the client can decide and make a clear decision on what they want instead of seeing them all at different times.

Technical skills:

They would have to know a lot about manufacturing a product, and possible the best equipment in order to create the best product.

Career progression: