Does Fat Shack provide advertising and promotional materials to franchisees, and if so, who bears the cost?

Give you access to advertising and promotional materials developed by us, the cost of which we may pass on to you. (Section 10.1.b, Franchise Agreement).

• 1. Provide you, as we deem necessary, on-going updates of information and programs regarding menu items and their preparation, the competition, the industry, the FAT SHACK Restaurant business and related Licensed Methods, including information about special or new services or products which we develop and make available to franchisees (Section 10.1.c, Franchise Agreement).
• 1. At our discretion, train your replacement General Manager during the term of the Franchise Agreement. We reserve the right to charge a tuition or fee for training, payable in advance, according to our then current published prices. You must pay all travel and living expenses for your personnel during the training program. The availability of the training programs depends on the availability of training staff, space considerations and prior commitments to new FAT SHACK franchisees (Section 10.1.d, Franchise Agreement).
• 1. Hold periodic conferences to discuss restaurant operations, bookkeeping, new product developments, new service suggestions, accounting, inventory control, performance standards, advertising programs, merchandising procedures and other topics deemed relevant by us. We may require you to attend these conferences. (Section 7.2 of Franchise Agreement.)
• 1. Permit you to use our Licensed Methods, as they may be modified. (Sections 2.1 and 15.2 of Franchise Agreement.)
• 1. Permit you to use our Marks in accordance with our specifications. (Sections 2.1 and 15.1 of Franchise Agreement.)

Advertising and Promotion

Local Advertising. Currently, we do not require franchisees to conduct any specific advertising of their FAT SHACK Restaurants, although we recommend that that they do advertise their businesses. Although we currently do not require you to expend a specific amount or percentage of your Gross Sales on advertising, we reserve the right to do so in the future. In that event, you will be required to submit regular reports to us accounting for the use of these funds. If a Regional Advertising program in your area is established, as discussed below, we may allocate a portion of your local advertising amounts to the Regional Advertising program.

If you propose to use any advertising not previously developed or approved by us, you must submit the proposed advertising to us for review and approval or, if necessary, modification, at your cost. You are responsible for the costs of printing all materials and any proposed supplier of printing services must be first approved by us. All advertising and promotion of your FAT SHACK Restaurant must also be in such media and of such type and format as we must first approve in writing, and it must be conducted in a dignified manner and must conform to the standards and requirements as we or our designated vendor may specify. Any proposed written advertising or a description of a marketing or promotional program not previously approved by us must be submitted to us at least 10 days prior to publication, broadcast or use.

We do not require Franchisees to participate in a local or regional advertising cooperative, although we reserve the right to do so in the future. We have not established any rules or regulations related to local or regional advertising cooperatives.

We are not required to spend any amount on advertising in area or territory where your FAT SHACK Restaurant is located.

Marketing and Promotion Fund Contribution. We currently do not collect a Marketing and Promotion Fee, nor have we established a National Marketing and Promotion Fund or program. However, upon not less than 30 days' notice, we may require you to remit to us a Marketing and Promotion Fee of up to 1½ percent of Gross Sales. We may change the percentage of the Marketing and Promotion Fee upon 30 days' notice, but not above 1½ percent of Gross Sales. The Marketing and Promotion Fee is due to us along with your Royalty Fee payment, payable weekly by automatic transfer on Tuesday of each week, based on the amount of Gross Sales in the previous week. The Marketing and Promotion Fee will be placed in a separate account ("Marketing and Promotion Fund") will be accounted for separately.

Source: Item 11 — Franchisor's Assistance, Advertising, Computer Systems, and Training (FDD pages 28–36)