How is a DMA defined for Bojangles advertising purposes?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Each Expense Sharing Agreement establishes a DMA membership composed of (1) franchisees owning a Restaurant(s) within a particular DMA, (2) each franchisee that is a franchisee upon the date of execution of the Expense Sharing Agreement and who may have elected to become a member of a particular DMA under specific provisions in the Expense Sharing Agreement allowing that election, and (3) us and our affiliates as to each DMA in which we own a Restaurant. A DMA is a geographical area designated as a television Designated Market Area by the Nielsen Ratings Company. (For purposes of radio advertising, this geographical area is designated as a radio area of dominant influence or ADI by Nielsen Audio.) An "Eligible DMA" is a DMA with two or more members.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a DMA, or Designated Market Area, is a geographical area designated by the Nielsen Ratings Company for television advertising purposes. For radio advertising, the equivalent geographical area is referred to as an ADI, or Area of Dominant Influence, as designated by Nielsen Audio.
Each Expense Sharing Agreement establishes a DMA membership. This membership is composed of franchisees owning a Bojangles restaurant within the DMA, franchisees who elected to become members under specific provisions of the Expense Sharing Agreement, and Bojangles itself or its affiliates for each DMA in which they own a restaurant. An "Eligible DMA" is defined as a DMA with two or more members participating in the cooperative advertising efforts.
This definition is important for prospective franchisees because it determines the scope of their cooperative advertising efforts and the composition of the advertising cooperative they will be involved in. It also clarifies how votes are allocated within the cooperative, with each member typically receiving one vote per restaurant within the DMA, although Bojangles Express restaurants may have half votes and Bojangles may retain voting rights even after selling company-operated restaurants in the DMA.