What item in the City Publications Disclosure Document discusses advertising obligations?
City_Publications Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| Obligation | Section In Agreement | Disclosure Document Item | |
|---|---|---|---|
| o. | Advertising | Section 11 | ITEMS 6 and 11 |
C. Advertising and Promotion
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- There is no advertising program for which you are required to make contributions. There is no advertising council composed of franchisees. We may elect at a future time to arrange cooperative advertising. You may elect with other franchisees to establish cooperative advertising for a select area encompassing your mutual territories. It is optional for the franchisees to participate in such a cooperative. If such a cooperative is established, we anticipate that each franchisee in the given area would automatically be a member, with one vote per franchise agreement. Any company or affiliate owned outlets would also be members and would be required to make the same contributions as the other members. Since there are no cooperatives at this point or ever in the past, we do not have a policy on an amount that franchisees would be required to contribute to the cooperative. We anticipate that the members would establish a governing board and would adopt governing documents that would be available for review by a prospective franchisee. (Section 11B)
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- We have established and maintain an Internet website at www.citypublication.com that provides information about the CITY PUBLICATIONS System and the services that you and we provide. We will establish a website for your Franchised Business with a link to our website. You are responsible for maintaining the website created for your Franchised Business. We may (but are not required to) include an interior page at our website about your Franchised Business. If we include information about your Franchised Business on our website, we may require you to prepare all or a portion of the page at your expense using our template. We review and approve all information you prepare prior to posting it. We retain the sole right to market on the Internet, including all use of websites, domain names, URL's linking, meta-tags, marketing, auction sites, e-commerce and co-branding arrangements. You may be required to provide content for our Internet marketing. You must follow our intranet and Internet usage rules, policies and requirements. We retain the sole right to use the Marks on the Internet, including on websites, as domain names, directory addresses, search terms, meta-tags, and in connection with linking, marketing, digital marketing, social
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 19–24)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to City Publications' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 11 and Item 6 both discuss advertising obligations. Specifically, a table within Item 11 cross-references Section 11 of the Franchise Agreement and Items 6 and 11 of the Disclosure Document regarding advertising. This indicates that the franchisee's advertising responsibilities and the franchisor's support in this area are detailed in these sections.
Item 11 also elaborates on City Publications' advertising and promotion activities. Currently, there is no mandatory advertising program or advertising council for franchisees. However, City Publications retains the option to establish cooperative advertising programs in the future, where franchisees in a specific area could collaborate on advertising initiatives. Participation in these cooperative programs would be optional, but if a cooperative is formed, membership would likely be automatic for franchisees in the area, with voting rights based on the number of franchise agreements held. Any company-owned outlets would also be members and contribute equally.
City Publications maintains a website and will create a website for each franchise with a link to the main site. Franchisees are responsible for maintaining their individual websites. City Publications has the right to approve all content and retains control over internet marketing, including website use, domain names, and social media. Franchisees may be required to provide content for City Publications' internet marketing efforts and must adhere to the company's internet usage rules. This multi-faceted approach to advertising suggests that franchisees have some autonomy in their advertising efforts, but must adhere to City Publications' overall marketing strategy and guidelines.