Does Ella Cafe require approval of franchisee local advertisements?
Ella_Cafe Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
more at your own discretion and with our approval.
Local Advertisement. Each month, you must spend at least 2% of your Gross Sales on advertising, promotions and public relations in the local area surrounding the Franchised Business. We can require you to spend up to 3% of Gross Sales on your Local Advertisement expenditure. You will pay for your ads and promotions directly, but we will provide you with general marketing guidelines and we will review and approve your advertisements.
Point of Sale and Computer Systems
You must purchase, install, and maintain an electronic point-of-sale cash register system to record sales and transaction data (such as item ordered, price, and date of sale) that we designate. Currently, TOAST is the only approved point-of-sale system ("POS System") required to operate your Ella Coffee House; however, we reserve the right to change the POS System to any other POS System that we may designate and communicate the same to you via the Operations Manual. All sales must be processed through the approved POS systems and reported as gross sales and no other supplemental or secondary POS system may be used. You must install and maintain between two and four POS Systems (depending on the size of your Coffee House). The computer system and/or POS for your Franchised Business will be dedicated for the operation of your Ella Coffee House business and used for no other purpose.
You must connect the POS System to a telephone line or other communications device, such as a computer, which is capable of accessing the internet via a third-party network. We anticipate this will cost you $2,500 to $10,000 to purchase or lease the systems.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 24–33)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Ella Cafe's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to obtain approval for their local advertising. Each month, franchisees must spend at least 2% of their gross sales on local advertising, promotions, and public relations, and Ella Cafe can require them to spend up to 3%. While franchisees pay for their local ads and promotions directly, Ella Cafe will provide general marketing guidelines and must review and approve all advertisements.
To get approval, franchisees must submit any proposed advertising or marketing material at least 14 days before its intended use. If Ella Cafe does not respond within that timeframe, the material is considered rejected. Ella Cafe also states that franchisees may use their own advertising or marketing material only with their approval.
Ella Cafe also controls all marketing and promotion, which must be conducted professionally and conform to their standards. All marketing and promotional materials, including product identification, point-of-purchase materials, and merchandise, will either be provided or made available for purchase through Ella Cafe. Furthermore, franchisees may only use social media accounts, email marketing software, and other electronic accounts that Ella Cafe creates and licenses to them.