Contractual brief

A contractual brief is a brief/contract with specific guidelines set by the client that the media company they've employed must follow. If the media company fails to follow the brief exactly it can result in a breach of contract resulting in legal actions.

One of the benefits of a contractual brief include the media company having the ability to have full knowledge of what the client is asking for as the brief has non negotiable specifics and is also highly detailed.

A possible disadvantage is that a media company could end up having a bad reputation if the requirements listed in the brief are not met exactly. If theres any difficulty within the brief the contractor can take legal action against the production company.

Cooperative Brief

This brief is when two or more companies work together to complete a project. It is usually done when one company isn't capable of individually completing the work given.

An advantage of this type of brief is that there is flexibility in the contract so that the companies can negotiate together in order to make sure they can both successfully meet the requirements. A disadvantage however is that negotiations can waste time and delay the production of the project.

Formal Brief

This type of brief is very open and theres only enough information to allow the media company to produce the project. Any issues or misunderstandings can be looked at during negotiations in the beginning.

Clients who give this type brief are open to many ideas allowing the media company to be creative in their work.

One possible disadvantage is that a client can be too vague and give little direction to the media company making it difficult for them to know what to do. If the client ends up unsatisfied with their work it could lead to them having a bad reputation.

Informal Brief

These briefs are non-documented and the specifications in this style of brief is usually made and agreed upon verbally.

An advantage is that the client is able to get a wide range of ideas for their product and chose to work with the company which has suggested the best option.

A disadvantage is that it can be hard for the companies turned down to find replacement work if they have already booked that project into their schedule.

Competition Brief

These briefs are open to the public which allows for a a wide variety of talented people to create a product based on the brief for free.

Due to it being a competition, the prize/reward will only be granted to the winner which means theres loads of ideas to chose from and the cost of the product is reduced.

an example would be the BFX Competition Briefs where teams of 5 people provide a product based on a wide range of briefs provided.
http://www.bfxfestival.com/competition/competition-briefs/

Tender

Theres some noticeable similarities between the last two briefs as they both involve outside companies pitching their ideas to clients in order to receive the job. Once the client has seen all the briefs, the best is selected and the chance to work for the client by developing their product and ideas.
http://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/ is known for their range of tender briefs available.

Paying attention when reading a brief is important because you need to be able to stick to it. Doing this gives you the ability to come up with ideas and being able to actually work on the project. Other than those points, reading a brief allows you to work out final dates, your timescale and what the specific requirements are.
Besides from the money, the longterm results from sticking to a brief include building your portfolio, gaining contacts, self development, experience and more.