Which TWO of the following would you expect to find in a client brief?

Answers: A (Target audience) and B (Project deadline). One mark for each correct choice.

Match each feature to the client brief format it best describes.

Detailed written contract with fixed requirements → Formal brief Larger company hires a smaller one with broad requirements → Commission brief Requirements agreed through two-way discussion → Negotiated brief One mark for each correct match.

A client brief states: 'FitFuel wants a 30-second advert for its new protein bar, aimed at gym-goers aged 18-35, ready for 1 June, budget £8,000, to run on social media.' Identify: (a) the target audience, (b) the deadline, (c) the platform.

Model answer: (a) Gym-goers aged 18-35; (b) 1 June; (c) social media. How the marks are given: 1 mark each: audience = gym-goers 18-35; deadline = 1 June; platform = social media.

Explain one disadvantage of a client giving their requirements verbally in a meeting rather than in a written brief.

Model answer: Details can be forgotten or remembered differently by each side (1), leading to disputes about what was actually agreed (1). How the marks are given: 1 mark for no record/misremembering; 1 mark for the consequence (disagreements, wrong product, rework).

An organic food company's ethos is environmental sustainability. Explain one way this ethos could constrain the planning and production of its media products.

Model answer: Printed materials might need recycled paper and eco-friendly inks (1), which could limit the print options available or increase costs (1). How the marks are given: 1 mark for a valid constraint linked to the ethos (materials, imagery choices, avoiding wasteful giveaways, message consistency); 1 mark for its impact on planning/production.

R093 · TA2 Factors influencing product design · Lesson 4 of 16

Client briefs and client requirements: R093 revision

Revision notes for OCR Creative iMedia R093, spec point 2.2: what you need to know, the key terms, the mistakes that cost marks, and 5 free exam-style questions with their mark schemes.

What is a client brief?

A client brief is how a client tells a media producer what it wants: the type of product, its purpose and audience, the content, style and theme, and the timescales. It can be formal or informal, written or given in a meeting, commissioned or negotiated. Every plan has to meet it, so it also sets the limits the producer works within.

Client requirements

The specification lists nine requirements a brief can set out. Know what each one means:

Type of product: what is to be made, such as a 30-second video advert, a poster, a website or an app.
Purpose: what the product is for: to advertise or promote, educate, entertain, inform or influence.
Audience: who it is for, ideally described with segmentation categories.
Client ethos: the organisation's values, such as sustainability, family-friendliness or luxury, which the product must reflect.
Content: what must be included: the logo, product photos, contact details, a key message.
Genre: the kind of product within its form, such as horror, comedy, documentary or platform game.
Style: the look and feel, often set by the client's house style (its fonts, colours and logo rules).
Theme: the central idea or subject, such as summer, community or space travel.
Timescales: the deadline and any milestones along the way.

Budget is not on OCR's list, but real briefs usually state one, and it is one of the biggest constraints on what can be made.

Client brief formats

Briefs reach the producer in different ways. OCR lists six formats:

Formal: a detailed document agreed by both sides, often part of a contract. It is clear and can be checked against later, but leaves little room to change.
Informal: a looser brief, such as a quick email or a chat. It is fast and flexible but easy to misunderstand, and details are often missing.
Written: any brief set down in writing, from an email to a full document, giving a record both sides can refer back to.
Meeting or discussion: requirements given face to face or on a call. Questions can be answered on the spot, but someone must take careful notes.
Commission: the client commissions a company or freelancer to make the product, usually setting out what it wants in broad terms and leaving many creative decisions to the producer. A broadcaster commissioning a production company to make a series is an example.
Negotiated: the client and producer discuss and adjust the requirements until both agree, for example trimming the content to fit the budget or deadline.

The formats overlap: a brief can be both written and formal, or given in a meeting and then negotiated. In the exam, choose the format that fits the evidence in the scenario.

Reading a brief: find the keywords

Section B scenarios are briefs, and the marks go to answers that use their details. Read every sentence for requirements. Take this one: 'Riverside Climbing Centre wants a 30-second promotional video for social media to attract 16 to 25 year olds to its new evening sessions. It must use the centre's orange and navy colours, show real climbers, and be ready by 1 March.'

Type of product: a 30-second promotional video.
Purpose: to promote the evening sessions.
Audience: 16 to 25 year olds.
Style: the orange and navy house colours.
Content: real climbers.
Timescale: ready by 1 March.
Platform: social media, which also suggests a short, vertical, captioned video.

How a brief constrains planning and production

Requirements are also limits. A tight deadline rules out ideas that take weeks to shoot or animate. A small budget means fewer crew, free locations and no paid actors. A house style fixes the colours and fonts. The client's ethos can rule out content altogether: an eco-friendly brand will not want plastic giveaways, and may need recycled paper for its printed products, which can cost more. The platform fixes the length, aspect ratio and file format.

Producers also use the brief to generate ideas. They pull out the requirements, build a mind map or mood board around them, and check every idea against the brief before it goes any further. An idea that breaks a requirement is not an option, however good it looks.

How it comes up in the exam

Client briefs were worth up to 9 marks on a single paper (January 2024) and almost nothing on another, but every Section B is built on a brief, so reading it carefully pays off on nearly every question. OCR has asked candidates to explain the differences between brief formats, as well as to pull requirements out of a scenario.

For how the long answers and pre-production documents are marked, see how R093 is marked.

Key terms

Client: The person or organisation that wants the product made.
Client brief: The client's statement of what it wants the product to be and do.
Client requirements: What the brief says the product must include or achieve.
Client ethos: The values the client stands for, which its products must reflect.
Constraint: A limit on planning or production, such as the deadline, budget or house style.
House style: A client's consistent look: its colours, fonts, logo use and layout rules.
Commission: When a client hires a company or freelancer to make a product to its brief.
Negotiated brief: A brief whose requirements are agreed through discussion between client and producer.

Common mistakes

Treating the scenario as background. Section B answers should name the client's audience, purpose and requirements.
Confusing a formal brief (how detailed and binding it is) with a written brief (the medium). An informal brief can still be an email.
Planning something that breaks a constraint. A plan that misses the deadline or ignores the house style does not meet the brief.
Listing requirements without saying how they affect the product when the question asks you to explain.

R093 client briefs exam questions with answers

These are questions from SubjectHub's R093 bank, written in the style of the real paper. Try each one, then open the mark scheme. On SubjectHub they are marked automatically, written answers included.

Question 1 · Choose two[2 marks]
Which TWO of the following would you expect to find in a client brief?
1. ATarget audience
2. BProject deadline
3. CThe editor's holiday dates
4. DThe office wifi password
Show the mark scheme
Answers: A (Target audience) and B (Project deadline).
One mark for each correct choice.
Question 2 · Matching[3 marks]
Match each feature to the client brief format it best describes.
1. 1Detailed written contract with fixed requirements
2. 2Larger company hires a smaller one with broad requirements
3. 3Requirements agreed through two-way discussion
1. ACommission brief
2. BNegotiated brief
3. CFormal brief
Show the mark scheme
Detailed written contract with fixed requirements → Formal brief
Larger company hires a smaller one with broad requirements → Commission brief
Requirements agreed through two-way discussion → Negotiated brief
One mark for each correct match.
Question 3 · Short answer[3 marks]
A client brief states: 'FitFuel wants a 30-second advert for its new protein bar, aimed at gym-goers aged 18-35, ready for 1 June, budget £8,000, to run on social media.' Identify: (a) the target audience, (b) the deadline, (c) the platform.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: (a) Gym-goers aged 18-35; (b) 1 June; (c) social media.
How the marks are given: 1 mark each: audience = gym-goers 18-35; deadline = 1 June; platform = social media.
Question 4 · Short answer[2 marks]
Explain one disadvantage of a client giving their requirements verbally in a meeting rather than in a written brief.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: Details can be forgotten or remembered differently by each side (1), leading to disputes about what was actually agreed (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for no record/misremembering; 1 mark for the consequence (disagreements, wrong product, rework).
Question 5 · Short answer[2 marks]
An organic food company's ethos is environmental sustainability. Explain one way this ethos could constrain the planning and production of its media products.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: Printed materials might need recycled paper and eco-friendly inks (1), which could limit the print options available or increase costs (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for a valid constraint linked to the ethos (materials, imagery choices, avoiding wasteful giveaways, message consistency); 1 mark for its impact on planning/production.

Ready for a longer go? The free R093 mini-mock has a Section A and a Section B scenario in the shape of the real paper.

Keep revising

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