What is the definition of 'Digital Presence' in the context of Cream's advertising?
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.
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, a 'Digital Presence' is defined as an address, social media account, username, other digital presence or presence on any electronic, virtual, or digital medium of any kind. Cream may establish and develop digital presences to advertise, market, and promote Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shops, the products and services that they offer and sell, or the Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shop franchise opportunity.
Cream has the right to reference, advertise, describe, and/or promote a franchisee's shop on any digital presence that they maintain or manage. However, franchisees are restricted from developing, maintaining, or authorizing any digital presence that mentions their shop, links to any digital presence that Cream manages, or displays any of Cream's marks without prior authorization.
If Cream approves a franchisee's use of a digital presence, the franchisee must adhere to Cream's guidelines, including those for posting messages or maintaining an online privacy policy. Cream retains ownership of each digital presence managed by the franchisee and may require the franchisee to use a designated supplier to manage these digital presences, including content and comments. Cream also has the option to control any or all digital presences associated with the marks and/or the franchisee's shop, including responses to customer comments on third-party platforms.