What is the process for a Kidokinetics franchisee to get approval to establish an internet presence?
Kidokinetics Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
You are restricted from establishing a presence on, or marketing, promoting or advertising your Kidokinetics Business, using the Internet or other electronic media without our prior written approval. Except as approved in advance in writing by us, you must not establish or maintain a separate website, splash page, profile or other presence on the Internet, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Kidokinetics Business, including on social media and/or networking site (whether currently existing or developed in the future). If we grant the approval, you: (i) must establish and operate such Internet site in accordance with System standards and any other policies we designate in the Franchise Operations Manual or otherwise in writing from time to time; (ii) must utilize any templates that we provide to you to create and/or modify such site(s); and (iii) must obtain our approval prior to making social media postings and you agree to any social media postings that we, in our sole discretion, determine are inappropriate or detrimental to the goodwill of the System within 24 hours of our notice to you. You must obtain paid advertising on the Internet (i.e., Google, Yahoo, Bing, and MSN) for your Kidokinetics Business. You will obtain these services directly through third parties and are responsible for any fees they charge. These fees may be credited to your Local Marketing Requirement.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 26–34)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Kidokinetics' 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are restricted from establishing any internet presence to market, promote, or advertise their Kidokinetics business without prior written approval from Kidokinetics. This includes websites, splash pages, profiles, or any other presence on the internet, including social media.
If Kidokinetics grants approval, the franchisee must operate the internet site according to Kidokinetics' system standards and policies, as outlined in the Franchise Operations Manual or in writing. Franchisees must use any templates provided by Kidokinetics to create or modify their sites. Furthermore, franchisees must obtain Kidokinetics' approval before making social media postings and agree to remove any postings that Kidokinetics deems inappropriate or detrimental to the goodwill of the system within 24 hours of notice.
Kidokinetics franchisees are required to obtain paid advertising on the internet through third parties like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and MSN, and are responsible for any associated fees. These fees may be credited towards the Local Marketing Requirement. Kidokinetics also reserves the right to access and manage a franchisee's social media accounts to make upgrades, post information, and manage the accounts for the benefit of the Kidokinetics system. Kidokinetics retains the sole right to market on the Internet, including the use of websites, domain names, uniform resource locator's, linking, search engines (and search engine optimization techniques), banner ads, meta-tags, marketing, auction sites, e-commerce and co-branding arrangements. Franchisees may be requested to provide content for Kidokinetics' Internet marketing and must follow Kidokinetics' intranet and Internet usage rules, policies and requirements.
This level of control is common in franchising to maintain brand consistency and protect the brand's reputation. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider these requirements and ensure they are comfortable with the level of oversight Kidokinetics maintains over their online presence.