Can Beem Light Sauna use Brand Fund monies for conducting and administering promotions?
Beem_Light_Sauna Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
the Brand Fund is negative and charge a reasonable rate of interest. The amounts loaned to the Brand Fund will be repaid from future contributions to the Brand Fund in the year the loan is made or in subsequent years.
We may use monies in the Brand Fund and any earnings on the Brand Fund account for any costs associated with advertising (media and production), branding, marketing, public relations and/or promotional programs and materials, and any other activities we determine, in our sole discretion, would benefit the Brand or the Studios generally. These activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) advertising campaigns in various media; (ii) creation, maintenance, and optimization of the System Website or other websites; (iii) keyword or adword purchasing programs; (iv) conducting and managing social media activities; (v) direct mail advertising; (vi) market research, including secret shoppers and customer satisfaction surveys; (vii) branding studies; (viii) engaging advertising and/or public relations agencies and paying any related retainers and fees; (ix) paying the salaries and benefits of our marketing and brand-building personnel and any other overhead related to our marketing department; (x) purchasing promotional items; (xi) conducting and administering promotions, contests, giveaways, public relations events, and community involvement activities; (xii) marketing the sale of Franchises; (xiii) providing promotional and other marketing materials and services to our franchisees; and (xiv) reasonable administrative costs and overhead we incur related to the administration of the Brand Fund and the implementation of Brand Fund-supported programs.
We may consult with, in our sole discretion, a franchisee advisory council selected by franchisees or a committee of franchisees that we appoint regarding marketing programs.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–47)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Beem Light Sauna Franchise Disclosure Document, Beem Light Sauna can use Brand Fund monies for costs associated with promotional programs. Specifically, the FDD states that the Brand Fund can cover costs related to conducting and administering promotions, contests, giveaways, public relations events, and community involvement activities.
This means that a portion of the Brand Fund, which franchisees contribute to (up to 4% of Gross Sales, currently 2%), may be used by Beem Light Sauna to run various promotional activities. These promotions are intended to benefit the Beem Light Sauna brand and studios generally. However, the FDD also states that Beem Light Sauna does not guarantee that franchisees will benefit from the Brand Fund in proportion to their contributions.
In 2024, Brand Fund expenditures were allocated with 25.78% spent on production, 13.61% on media placement, and 60.61% on administrative expenses. While this provides a historical breakdown, it does not guarantee future allocations will follow the same pattern. Beem Light Sauna retains the right to direct all marketing programs and uses of the Brand Fund, with final decision-making authority over creative concepts, materials, and media used in the programs.