What is the deadline for an Endless Summer Sweets franchisee to provide documentation of local advertising and promotional activities?
Endless_Summer_Sweets Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
Local Advertising. You must spend three percent (3%) of your gross sales per month on
advertising and promotional activities during each calendar year, in such types as we approve or as described in the Operations Manual or otherwise in writing. We encourage you, however, to spend additional amounts on local advertising and promotional activities beyond the minimum amounts required under the Franchise Agreement. Your local advertising expenditures will include advertising, merchandising, sales promotion and other forms of advertising at the local level. By February 28 each year, you must provide us with an accounting of the monies that you spent and documentation of the local advertising and promotional activities you executed during the preceding calendar year. If you fail to spend the required minimum amount during any calendar year on approved local advertising and promotional activities, you must pay us the difference between what you should have spent on approved local advertising and promotional activities during that year, and what you actually spent on those items during that year.
You must obtain our approval (in writing) of all marketing, advertising and promotional materials before use, including any of your own materials, at least 10 days before the deadline for running or using the marketing, advertising or promotional materials. Any marketing, advertising or promotional materials not approved by us within 14 days will be deemed disapproved. At any time, we may require you to stop any marketing, advertising or promotion. You must use marketing, advertising and promotional materials that depict any of our trademarks only in connection with your sale of approved services and products in connection with your Business. Any marketing, advertising and promotional materials you use must be current, in good taste and in good condition and communicate the brand position and character that we have established for franchised businesses. We may periodically make available for purchase, from us or our affiliates or designated or approved suppliers, certain advertising, marketing and promotion materials.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 18–25)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Endless Summer Sweets' 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to spend 3% of their gross sales per month on local advertising and promotional activities each calendar year. The FDD states that by February 28th of each year, franchisees must provide Endless Summer Sweets with an accounting and documentation of all local advertising and promotional activities executed during the previous calendar year.
This means that an Endless Summer Sweets franchisee must keep detailed records of all local advertising and promotional expenses throughout the year. These records must then be compiled and submitted to Endless Summer Sweets by February 28th of the following year. The documentation should include proof of the advertising and promotional activities that were conducted and the amount spent on each activity.
If a franchisee fails to spend the required 3% of gross sales on approved local advertising, they must pay Endless Summer Sweets the difference between the required amount and the actual amount spent. This ensures that all franchisees are contributing to local marketing efforts as agreed upon in the franchise agreement. Franchisees must also obtain written approval from Endless Summer Sweets for all marketing, advertising, and promotional materials at least 10 days before the deadline for their use. Materials not approved within 14 days will be considered disapproved.