What is the Caring Transitions Franchisor's responsibility regarding the consistency of advertising and promotion?
Caring_Transitions Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
o use and that have not been prepared or previously approved by Franchisor. Franchisee shall display the Marks in the manner prescribed by Franchisor on all signs and all other advertising and promotional materials used in connection with the franchised business. Franchisee specifically acknowledges and agrees that the word "advertising" as used in this agreement includes, but is not limited to, signs (including signs on motor vehicles and the interior and exterior of the Premises), URLs, e-mail addresses, Internet listings, banners, advertisements, or other services or links on or with the Internet, World Wide Web, Internet service providers, email services, communication providers, search engines, and similar services.
- 11.9. Web site. Franchisee specifically acknowledges and agrees that any Web site (as defined below) will be deemed "advertising" under this agreement, and will be subject to (among other things) Franchisor's approval under this Article 11. As used in this agreement, the term "Web site**"** means an interactive electronic document, series of symbols, or otherwise, that is contained in a network of
computers and/or other devices linked by communications software and includes, but is not limited to, social media pages and web logs. The term Web site includes, but is not limited to, Internet and World Wide Web home pages, social media pages, and web logs. In connection with any Web site, Franchisee agrees to the following:
(a) Franchisor shall have the right, but not the obligation, to establish and maintain a Web site, which may, without limitation, promote the Marks, the System, any or all of the Permitted Products and Services, and/or the offer and sale of Caring Transitions franchises. Franchisee shall use all Web sites relating to the franchised business required by Franchisor. Franchisor shall have the sole right to control all aspects of the Web site, including, but not limited to, its design, content, functionality, links to the Web sites of third parties, legal notices, and policies and terms of usage. Franchisor shall also have the right to discontinue the operation of the Web site at any time in its business judgment.
(b) Franchisee shall not directly or indirectly establish, maintain, or operate a separate Caring Transitions Web site without Franchisor's prior written consent. Any Caring Transitions Web site established, maintained, or operated by Franchisee must contain a link to and from Franchisor's Web site and Franchisor has the right to require modifications of the content, appearance, and format of Franchisee's Caring Transitions Web site. The term "Caring Transitions Web site" means a Web site that displays any of the Marks, or which relates to the franchised business, franchisor, the System, or any business that offers or sells products or services that compete with any products or services offered by Caring Transitions franchises.
(c) Franchisee shall not, without Franchisor's prior written consent, establish or permit or aid any other person to establish any link to any Web site or any other electronic or computergenerated advertising or communication arrangement that Franchisor may establish or that is related to the franchised business.
(d) Franchisor shall have the right, but not the obligation, to designate one or more Web page(s) to describe Franchisee, the franchised business, and/or Franchisee's location, with any such Web page(s) to be located within Franchisor's Web site, or to provide Franchisee with a separate Caring Transitions Web site or page(s) for such purposes. Franchisee shall comply with Franchisor's policies with respect to the creation, maintenance, and content of any such Web pages, and may be responsible for hosting such Web pages. Franchisor shall retain ownership in and have the right, in its business judgment, to limit, reassign, and/or discontinue the content and/or operation of such Web site and Web pages.
(e) Franchisor makes no representations about any Web site that it may provide or make available to Franchisee, including, without limitation, the Web site's suitability, reliability, or availability. To the full extent permissible by applicable law, Franchisor disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to the Web site, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, or warranties arising by course of dealing or custom of trade. Franchisor shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, compensatory, punitive, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or related to the use or performance of any Web site.
(f) In order to maintain the goodwill in the System and in the business of Franchisor and Franchisor's licensees, Franchisor has the right to impose conditions and standards requirements on Franchisee's use of electronic distribution channels, including any Caring Transitions Web site maintained by Franchisee, including the following:
(i) Franchisor is to own all rights to all domain names containing any of the Marks or relating to the franchised business, any Permitted Products and Services, or any business that offers or sells products or services that compete with any products or services offered by Caring Transitions franchises. Franchisee shall not register in its own name any domain name containing any of the Marks or relating to the franchised business, any Permitted Products and Services, or any business that offers or sells products or services that compete with any products or services offered by Caring Transitions franchises.
(ii) In order to maintain the common identity of the System and the high-quality standards associated with the System, Franchisee shall obtain Franchisor's prior written approval for any domain name and for the form and content of any Caring Transitions Web site before Franchisee uses it on the Internet. Unless Franchisor's prior written approval has been obtained, no element of the Marks or similar words may be used as part of the domain name or URL.
(iii) Any Caring Transitions Web site established or maintained by Franchisee must contain a hyperlink to Franchisor's Web site and all other hyperlinks to third-party Web sites must be previously approved in writing by Franchisor.
(iv) Any modifications to a Caring Transitions Web site established or maintained by Franchisee must first be approved in writing by Franchisor.
(v) Before establishing a Caring Transitions Web site, Franchisee shall obtain appropriate legal advice regarding the content and to ensure that the Web site complies with all relevant legislation and regulations.
(vi) Franchisee shall fully indemnify Franchisor against all and any claims arising out of any Web site established or maintained by Franchisee.
(vii) Franchisee shall comply fully with the terms and conditions of business over the Internet and shall ensure that such terms and conditions of business receive Franchisor's prior written approval.
Source: Item 20 — OUTLETS AND FRANCHISEE INFORMATION (FDD pages 41–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Caring Transitions' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must adhere to the franchisor's standards for advertising and promotional materials. Specifically, franchisees are required to display the Caring Transitions Marks in a manner prescribed by the franchisor on all signs, advertising, and promotional materials. This includes various forms of advertising, such as signs, URLs, email addresses, internet listings, banners, and other online services.
The franchisor has the right, but not the obligation, to establish and maintain a website that promotes the Caring Transitions brand, the system, and the permitted products and services. The franchisor retains sole control over all aspects of this website, including its design, content, functionality, and links. They also have the right to discontinue the website's operation at any time based on their business judgment. Franchisees cannot establish a separate Caring Transitions website without prior written consent from the franchisor, and any franchisee-operated website must link to the franchisor's website, with the franchisor having the right to require modifications to its content and appearance.
Caring Transitions may designate geographical areas for local or regional marketing and advertising cooperatives, requiring franchisees to participate in these cooperatives. The franchisor also reserves the right to designate suppliers for local marketing expenditures. Franchisees are obligated to spend a minimum amount on local marketing, which is $399 per month for the first 12 months of operation. After that, they must spend at least 4% of their gross receipts on local marketing annually. Failure to meet this minimum spending requirement constitutes a default of the Franchise Agreement, which can be cured by paying the difference to the National Branding Fund.