Are C12 Group franchisees required to expend any particular amount on advertising beyond the prepaid marketing fee?

There is no requirement that you expend any particular amount on advertising and/or marketing beyond the initial $10,000 in Prepaid Marketing paid along with the franchise fee.

You are not obligated to conduct advertising beyond your $10,000 Prepaid Marketing. As set forth in Section 9 above, we elect to conduct advertising using print, direct mail, and Internet advertising on a local, regional, and national basis, and you are not required to contribute to this advertising. At your election, you may advertise locally for a specific event or campaign. Additionally, you have an opportunity to request C12 Marketing Co-op support as described in 14 above.

• 1. Maintaining a C12 Marketing Co-op whereby C12 will pay a share of the cost of C12 marketing expenses both including the expenses related to the Prepaid Marketing Fund and all other eligible C12 marketing expenses at a rate equal to your applicable Monthly royalty fee %. This is a cooperative between you and C12 and not an advertising or marketing cooperative between you and other C12 franchisees.
• 1. The C12 marketing expenses related to marketing activities and items are those specifically approved and administered by C12, which include C12 Direct Mail Campaigns and C12 endorsed lead lists (e.g., InfoUSA). Upon your submission of a C12 Marketing Co-op Request Form with applicable documentation, C12 will review, approve, and make payment accordingly. For the purpose of promoting the formation of new C12 forums, C12 requires you spend the full prepaid marketing fund within 18 months of the execution of this agreement, and any unspent amounts will be forfeited as of that date.

Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 21–29)