Can Aerus assess franchisees for contributions to the System Media Fund?
Aerus Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- E.
Company also reserves the right to assess the Franchisee for contributions to the System Media Fund.
The System Media Fund shall be designed to facilitate media market spending that benefits the System.
The System Media Fund shall be organized for the purposes of, and all contributions thereto and any earnings thereon shall be used exclusively to meet the costs for maintaining, directing, preparing and conducting media campaigns, regional and national advertising for the benefit of the System.
The System Media Fund can be implemented on a national, local or regional basis.
Upon establishment of the System Media Fund by Company, Franchisee's obligations shall be as set forth in Addendum B, attached hereto.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 74–305)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Aerus's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Aerus retains the right to assess franchisees for contributions to the System Media Fund. This fund is intended to facilitate media market spending that benefits the Aerus system as a whole. The System Media Fund is designed to cover the costs of media campaigns and regional and national advertising. The fund can be implemented on a national, local, or regional level. Once Aerus establishes the System Media Fund, the franchisee's obligations will be detailed in Addendum B.
Addendum B specifies that each month, franchisees must pay a System Media Fund Fee to Aerus. Aerus, or its designee, will maintain and administer the fund, overseeing all advertising and promotional programs. Aerus has the sole discretion to approve or disapprove creative concepts, materials, and media used in these programs, including their placement and allocation. The System Media Fund aims to maximize public recognition and acceptance of the Aerus system and its trademarks.
The funds collected can be used to purchase various forms of media, such as internet, electronic, event, radio, television, and print advertising, on a local, regional, or national basis. All sums paid by franchisees to the System Media Fund will be kept in a separate account from Aerus's other monies. These funds will cover Aerus's reasonable administrative costs and overhead related to managing the System Media Fund and advertising programs. Aerus is also permitted to take a management fee, which cannot exceed 5% of the total System Media Fund Fees collected each calendar year.
While the System Media Fund is intended to be perpetual, Aerus reserves the right to terminate it. However, the fund will not be terminated until all monies have been spent on advertising and promotional purposes. The System Media Fund can be established for all franchise programs or separately for one or more of them. This means that franchisees should be prepared to contribute to the System Media Fund if and when Aerus decides to implement it, and they should familiarize themselves with the details outlined in Addendum B to understand their obligations and how the fund is managed.