Can Body Brain Center require franchisees to participate in an advertising cooperative?
Body_Brain_Center Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We have the right, but not the obligation, to create one or more advertising cooperatives for the purpose of creating and/or purchasing advertising programs for the benefit of all franchisees operating within a particular region.
We have the right to: (i) allocate any portion of the advertising fund fee to the advertising cooperative; (ii) determine the composition of all geographic territories and market areas for each advertising cooperative; and (iii) require that you participate in any advertising cooperative if and when established by us.
If we implement an advertising cooperative, we may establish an advertising council to self-administer the advertising cooperative.
You must participate in the council according to the council's rules and procedures and you must abide by the council's decisions.
Alternatively, we may administer the advertising cooperative ourselves.
We reserve the right to form, change, merge or dissolve advertising cooperativesin our discretion.
You must pay the monthly cooperative advertising fee established by us or the council, as applicable, which will be due on the sixth (6 th) day of each month for the prior month's operations.
The initial cooperative advertising fee shall be equal to 0.5% of Program Sales.
Upon the majority vote of all franchisees within the advertising cooperative, the amount of the cooperative advertising fee may be adjusted (or temporarily suspended) or the cooperative advertising fee may be eliminated altogether.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 43–178)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Body Brain Center's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Body Brain Center has the right to create one or more advertising cooperatives for franchisees operating within a particular region. Body Brain Center can allocate any portion of the advertising fund fee to the cooperative and determine the geographic territories and market areas for each cooperative. Most importantly, Body Brain Center can require franchisees to participate in any advertising cooperative they establish.
If Body Brain Center implements an advertising cooperative, they may establish an advertising council to self-administer it, in which franchisees must participate according to the council's rules and decisions. Alternatively, Body Brain Center may administer the cooperative themselves. Franchisees must pay the monthly cooperative advertising fee, due on the sixth day of each month for the prior month's operations. The initial cooperative advertising fee is 0.5% of Program Sales.
The amount of the cooperative advertising fee may be adjusted (or temporarily suspended) or eliminated altogether upon a majority vote of all franchisees within the advertising cooperative. Body Brain Center also reserves the right to form, change, merge, or dissolve advertising cooperatives at their discretion. This means that while franchisees have some say in the advertising fee, Body Brain Center ultimately controls the existence and structure of the advertising cooperatives.