What is the purpose of the Basecamp Fitness General Advertising and Marketing Fund?
Basecamp_Fitness Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The purpose of the Fund is to develop marketing and advertising programs that maximize general public recognition and acceptance of our brand. This means we may use monies in the Fund for any purpose that promotes the System or the Marks, including the creation, production and placement of consumer advertising; agency costs and commissions; costs of preparing, producing and conducting local, regional or national media of our choice, including: television, radio, Internet, magazine, direct mail and newspaper, billboard, social media and digital advertising, and direct mail campaigns, and other public relations activities; developing and/or hosting, maintaining and optimizing our website, other websites, and other applications or similar activities; implementing keyword or adword purchasing programs; administering regional and multi-regional advertising programs, and other media advertising; in-house staff assistance and related administrative costs; local and regional promotions; public relations campaigns including the cost of retaining public relations firms and other advertising, promotion or marketing agencies; developing marketing and advertising training programs and conducting market research (including sampling) and secret shopper programs; and other advertising, promotion and marketing activities, including participating at trade shows. Advertising may be placed in local, regional or national media of our choice. We do not guarantee that advertising expenditures from the General Advertising and Marketing Fund will benefit you or any other franchisee directly, on a pro rata basis, or at all.
We have an in-house marketing department, and also work with national, regional and local agencies. It is our responsibility to determine how monies in the Fund are spent. We will direct all advertising or other promotional programs produced using monies from the Fund and have the sole right to approve or disapprove creative concepts, materials and media used in those programs, the placement of the advertisements and the allocation of money in the Fund to production, placement or cost. We are not required to use monies in the Fund to benefit you or any individual market or location, or on a pro rata or other basis. However, we will not spend any portion of these monies for advertising principally designed to solicit the sale of franchises. We may periodically furnish you at no cost with samples of advertising, marketing and promotional formats and materials that are paid for by the Fund. If you choose to contract with marketing vendors which are not our preferred vendors, you may not have access to certain resources, assets and communications.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 35–45)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Basecamp Fitness's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the General Advertising and Marketing Fund is used to develop marketing and advertising programs to maximize public recognition and acceptance of the Basecamp Fitness brand. The fund can be used for various purposes that promote the Basecamp Fitness system and its trademarks. These include creating and placing consumer advertising across different media such as television, radio, internet, magazines, and social media. It also covers agency costs, public relations activities, website development, keyword purchasing programs, and administrative expenses.
Basecamp Fitness has the authority to decide how the fund's monies are spent and directs all advertising and promotional programs. They also have the sole right to approve creative concepts, materials, media usage, and the allocation of money within the fund. The FDD specifies that advertising expenditures from the fund are not guaranteed to directly benefit any franchisee on a pro-rata basis or at all. However, the franchisor will not use these funds to solicit the sale of franchises.
In 2024, expenditures from the General Advertising and Marketing Fund were allocated as follows: 25% for creative services, 9% for administrative expenses, 48% for advertising placement, and 18% for marketing research and technology platforms. Any unused funds from a calendar year will be applied to the following year, and any interest earned by the fund will be used for advertising before any principal is used. Franchisees can request an annual accounting of the fund to see how the proceeds were spent in the previous year, although these statements are not audited. Basecamp Fitness does not have a fiduciary duty regarding the fund's operation but may loan funds to it, with the repayment terms and interest determined by the franchisor.