What is the scope of Counselor Realty's advertising, generally?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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Counselor conducts various marketing activities periodically, including research, creative work, media purchasing, tracking, public relations, promotions, and advertising. You may (but are not required to) purchase promotional materials prepared by or for Counselor, at prices periodically established by Counselor, for use in your Business. Counselor may use in-house, affiliated, or outside advertising agencies. Advertising may be in print, on radio and/or television and/or Internet or other computer related media, and generally is local or regional in scope.
You may develop advertising materials for your own use, at your own expense. Advertising materials and media (including print, audio, video, website and computer-transmitted media) must conform at all times to Counselor's brand standard and image. If Counselor determines, in its sole discretion, that any advertising materials or media do not conform to Counselor's brand standard or image, you will alter or remove any such advertising materials or media, as directed in writing by Counselor. You have the option to develop your own website as part of your overall promotion strategy. Your use of Counselor's trademarks in any advertising materials and media must conform at all times to the requirements set forth in the Franchise Agreement. Counselor does not currently require any advertising materials or media to be approved by Counselor prior to you using them, but reserves the right to review and approve any advertising materials or media (and to require you to alter or cease using all or any portion of such advertising materials or media it does not approve).
We will create a separate webpage or subdomain for your Office and any Extension Office on Counselor Realty, Inc.'s website. If we have consented to any Additional Office locations, you may request to have us set up a separate webpage or subdomain for any such Additional Office on Counselor Realty, Inc.'s website. We will create a separate webpage or subdomain on Counselor Realty's website for those licensed agents you request in writing. All webpages and subdomains we create for the licensed agents operating through your Office (including any Additional Officer or Extension Office ) will include an IDX home search option for each market that the agent directly serves with listing reciprocity among Counselor Realty and our franchisees (local MLS fees are the agent's responsibility). You will be required to pay us a Website Set Up Fee for any such webpages or subdomains, as more particularly described in Item 6. You will also be required to pay us a Website Fee associated with the webpages and subdomains we create for your Office, any Additional Offices or Extension Offices, and for the licensed agents operating through your offices, in such amounts, and at such times, as more particularly described in Item 6.
Leads created off Counselor Realty's website for listings in the region where your franchised office is located will be provided and directed to your Office; provided, however, that if the lead is for a listing that is listed by one of our franchisee's agents or one of Counselor Realty's agents, such lead will be directed to such agent if that agent has elected to create a Counselor Realty web page/subdomain. If there is more than one franchisee in the region (distinct areas served by the same MLS system, or its equivalent), those leads will be shared and/or split between the affected franchisees, as determined by Counselor in its sole discretion. We may take into account office locations, number of agents, types of leads or any other rational means to distribute leads.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 17–21)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, advertising may be conducted at both the regional and individual franchisee level. Counselor Realty conducts marketing activities periodically, including research, creative work, media purchasing, tracking, public relations, promotions, and advertising. These activities may utilize in-house, affiliated, or outside advertising agencies. The advertising may appear in print, on radio, television, the Internet, or other computer-related media. Generally, Counselor Realty's advertising is local or regional in scope.
Franchisees have the option to develop their own advertising materials at their own expense, but these materials must conform to Counselor Realty's brand standards. While Counselor Realty does not currently require approval of advertising materials, it reserves the right to review and approve them, and to require franchisees to alter or cease using materials that do not meet its standards. Franchisees also have the option to develop their own websites as part of their promotion strategy, subject to similar brand standard requirements and potential review by Counselor Realty.
In addition to individual efforts, a Regional Advertising Group, administered by its Advertising Committee, may conduct its own marketing activities. This committee makes decisions regarding creative work, media purchases, and the scope of advertising. Franchisees can request an annual summary of the Regional Advertising Group's receipts and expenditures, including administrative expenses. If a franchisee's office is located within the 11-county metropolitan area of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, they must pay an Advertising Fee of $60 per agent per month. Outside the Twin Cities, franchisees must be members of the Regional Advertising Group and pay $25 per agent per month to the Regional Advertising Fund.