Can the Cream Brand Fund be used for administering local advertising campaigns?
Cream Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
; developing, implementing, and maintaining any website, domain name, email
address, social media account, username, other digital presence or presence on any electronic, virtual, or digital medium of any kind (each a "Digital Presence") or other software or applications; administering national, regional, digital, or local advertising and marketing campaigns and/or programs; using advertising, promotion, and marketing agencies and other advisors to provide assistance; supporting public relations, market research, and other advertising, promotion, and marketing strategy or implementation activities; and/or any other expenditures that are directly or indirectly related to promoting the Marks, the System, the brand, and/or Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shops. We may also use the Brand Fund to pay for the Brand Fund's administrative and overhead costs, including the reasonable salaries and benefits of personnel who manage and administer the Brand Fund, and any other expenses that we or our affiliates incur that are related to administering or directing the Brand Fund and its programs. We may modify Brand Fund expenditures at any time.
Neither we nor any of our affiliates has any fiduciary obligation to you or any other person for administering the Brand Fund. We will not make the financial statements of the Brand Fund available for review by franchisees. We may reduce or suspend Brand Fund Contributions and/or operations of the Brand Fund for one or more periods of any length and terminate (and, if terminated, reinstate) the Brand Fund and associated Brand Fund Contributions. If we terminate the Brand Fund, we will spend the remaining balance of the monies in the Brand Fund in accordance with our System Standards until such amounts are exhausted. We may elect to maintain multiple Brand Funds, whether determined by geographic region, country, or otherwise, or consolidate or merge multiple Brand Funds.
We do not currently have any franchisees, and therefore we did not collect any Brand Fund Contributions or spend any amounts from any Brand Fund on media production, media placement, administration, or to solicit new franchise sales in our most recently completed fiscal year. Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shops owned by us or our affiliates will contribute to the Brand Fund at the same rate as franchise-owned Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shops.
Your Local Advertising. You are responsible for conducting all local advertising for your Shop. However, you must satisfy our System Standards for all advertising for your Shop and/or using the Marks or the System. Our System Standards may require that you advertise and market your Shop in specific advertising mediums we determine, use forms of advertisement we approve, list your Shop with the online directories and subscriptions we prescribe, and/or include links or references to Digital Presences in the manner we prescribe.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 28–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cream's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Brand Fund can be used for administering local advertising and marketing campaigns. Cream has established a brand promotion fund (the "Brand Fund") to administer certain advertising, marketing, and public relations programs for the System, the Jeni's® brand, and the promotion of Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shops. Cream has exclusive control over all programs and services administered by the Brand Fund, including over the creative concepts, materials, and campaigns and their geographic market, media placement and allocation.
Cream may use the Brand Fund for administering national, regional, digital, or local advertising and marketing campaigns and/or programs. They may also use advertising, promotion, and marketing agencies and other advisors to provide assistance, supporting public relations, market research, and other advertising, promotion, and marketing strategy or implementation activities, and/or any other expenditures that are directly or indirectly related to promoting the Marks, the System, the brand. Cream may also use the Brand Fund to pay for the Brand Fund's administrative and overhead costs, including the reasonable salaries and benefits of personnel who manage and administer the Brand Fund, and any other expenses that Cream or its affiliates incur that are related to administering or directing the Brand Fund and its programs.
Cream does not have a franchisee advisory council that advises them on advertising policies, nor do they have any local or regional advertising cooperatives. Franchisees are also responsible for conducting all local advertising for their Shop, but they must satisfy Cream's System Standards for all advertising for their Shop and/or using the Marks or the System. At least 14 days before franchisees use advertising materials that Cream has not prepared or previously approved, they must send Cream samples for approval. If franchisees do not receive written approval within 14 days after Cream receives the materials, they are deemed to be disapproved.