Under what conditions must a Checkers franchisee participate in a special promotion and pay additional advertising fees?
Checkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
however, if we provide you and your local and/or regional advertising cooperative 90 days' notice of a special promotion, you must participate in such promotion and pay to us any advertising fees assessed in connection with the promotion, beginning on the effective date of such notice and continuing until such promotion is concluded. Any such regional advertising fees shall be in addition to, and not credited towards, the 4.5% advertising expenditure required by the Franchise Agreement.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 46–57)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Checkers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee must participate in a special promotion and pay associated advertising fees if Checkers and the local or regional advertising cooperative provide 90 days' notice. This requirement begins on the effective date of the notice and continues until the promotion concludes.
This means that Checkers franchisees do not have a choice about participating in these special promotions if they receive the required notice. They are obligated to implement the promotion at their restaurant and pay any additional advertising fees that Checkers assesses for the promotion.
The advertising fees for these special promotions are in addition to the standard 4.5% of net sales that franchisees are typically required to spend on advertising. These additional fees are not credited towards the standard advertising expenditure requirement outlined in the Franchise Agreement. This could potentially increase a franchisee's overall advertising expenses during the promotion period.