Under what conditions must a Checkers franchisee participate in a special regional promotion and pay regional advertising fees?
Checkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In addition, if we provide you and any local or regional advertising cooperative with 90 days' notice of a special regional promotion, you must participate in the promotion and pay us any regional advertising fees beginning on the effective date of the notice and continuing until the regional promotion ends. Any special regional advertising fees will be in addition to, and not credited towards, the minimum 4.5% advertising expenditure we currently require you to make.
Source: Item 6 — OTHER FEES (FDD pages 21–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Checkers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee must participate in a special regional promotion and pay regional advertising fees if Checkers provides the franchisee and any local or regional advertising cooperative with 90 days' notice. This participation and fee payment begin on the effective date of the notice and continue until the regional promotion concludes.
This special regional advertising fee is in addition to the minimum 4.5% advertising expenditure that Checkers currently requires the franchisee to make. This means that franchisees cannot credit the special regional advertising fees towards their existing 4.5% advertising obligation.
This requirement ensures that Checkers franchisees contribute to and participate in regional marketing efforts deemed necessary by the franchisor. Prospective franchisees should factor in the potential for these additional, uncredited advertising fees when assessing their overall marketing budget and potential profitability. It is important to note that the cooperative contribution rates generally range from 0.5% to 1.85% of Net Sales, but may vary.