What is the Bojangles Marketing Development Fund used for?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisee agrees to make contributions to the Bojangles Marketing Development Fund (hereinafter "Fund") as required under Paragraph IV.C. hereof.
The Fund shall be maintained and administered by Franchisor or its designee, as follows:
- (1) Franchisor shall direct the creation of all advertising programs, with sole discretion over the creative concepts, materials, and media used in such programs.
Franchisee agrees and acknowledges that the Fund is intended to maximize general public recognition and acceptance of the trade names, trademarks, and service marks which are designated as part of the System for the benefit of the System through research and the creation of marketing materials; and that Franchisor and its designee undertake no obligation, in administering the Fund, to make expenditures which are equivalent or proportionate to a franchisee's contribution, or to insure that any particular franchisee benefits directly or pro rata from Fund expenditures.
Franchisee is aware that there may be some franchisees operating under different forms of agreement and who may not be required to make payments into the Fund equivalent to Franchisee's payments.
- (2) Franchisor shall, for each of its company-owned Bojangles restaurants, make contributions to the Fund equivalent to the contributions required of comparable franchised Bojangles restaurants within the Bojangles System so that Franchisor's average contribution for each company-owned Restaurant will be equal to the average contribution per franchise-owned Restaurant.
This average per Restaurant contribution for franchise-owned Restaurants will be calculated by dividing the total contributions of franchisees to the Fund by the total number of franchise-owned Restaurants.
Franchisor's total contribution to the Fund will equal this average
per Restaurant contribution multiplied by Franchisor's total number of company-owned Restaurants; and
- (3) All contributions to the Fund shall be used exclusively for advertising and promotion of the Bojangles System (including, without limitation, the cost of preparing and conducting television, radio, video, digital, print, and billboard advertising campaigns and other public relations activities; conducting research; employing advertising agencies and other specialists to assist therein; and preparing and providing promotional brochures and other point of purchase marketing materials to franchisees in the Bojangles System).
All sums paid by Franchisee and other franchisees to the Fund shall not be used to defray any of Franchisor's general operating expenses except for such reasonable administrative expenses and overhead, if any, as Franchisor may incur in activities reasonably related to the administration or direction of the Fund and advertising programs, including, without limitation, conducting market research, preparing marketing and advertising materials, and collecting and accounting for assessments for the Fund.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 82)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Marketing Development Fund is used exclusively for advertising and promotion of the Bojangles system. This includes covering the costs of various advertising campaigns such as television, radio, video, digital, print, and billboard ads. The fund also supports other public relations activities and research efforts. Additionally, it is used to employ advertising agencies and specialists, as well as to prepare and provide promotional materials to franchisees.
The fund is intended to maximize public recognition and acceptance of Bojangles' trade names and trademarks. Bojangles directs the creation of all advertising programs, maintaining sole discretion over the creative concepts, materials, and media used. Franchisees acknowledge that the franchisor is not obligated to make expenditures equivalent or proportionate to their individual contributions, nor is there a guarantee that any franchisee will directly or proportionally benefit from the fund's expenditures.
Bojangles also contributes to the fund for its company-owned restaurants, ensuring that the average contribution per company-owned restaurant is equal to the average contribution per franchise-owned restaurant. This contribution is calculated by dividing the total contributions of franchisees by the total number of franchise-owned restaurants. The franchisor's total contribution equals this average per restaurant contribution multiplied by the total number of company-owned restaurants.
It is important to note that while the fund is primarily for advertising and promotion, the franchisor can use a portion of the funds for reasonable administrative expenses related to the fund's management and advertising programs. This includes expenses for market research, preparing marketing materials, and managing the collection and accounting of fund assessments. Franchisees are also required to adhere to Bojangles's standards for all advertising and promotional materials, submitting them for approval before use.