Who has sole control over the allocation of advertising for Moes Southwest Grill?

According to Moe's Southwest Grill's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Moe's Southwest Grill or an affiliate administers the Ad Fund and has sole authority to direct all advertising programs and promotions. This includes complete control over the creative concepts, materials, and media used in these programs, as well as the placement and allocation of advertising. Moe's Southwest Grill retains the right to use any media, create any programs, and allocate advertising and promotional expenditures to any regions or locales they deem appropriate.

This means that while franchisees are required to contribute to the Ad Fund, Moe's Southwest Grill ultimately decides how those funds are spent and which advertising strategies are implemented. Franchisees do not have direct control over these decisions. Moe's Southwest Grill also reserves the right to modify the required advertising contribution, potentially increasing it from 3% to 4% of Net Sales with notice to franchisees.

This structure is fairly common in franchising, where the franchisor aims to maintain brand consistency and maximize the impact of advertising efforts across the entire system. However, it's important for prospective franchisees to understand that they will not have direct input on how the Ad Fund is used, and Moe's Southwest Grill is not obligated to ensure that advertising expenditures benefit each franchisee equally or proportionately to their contributions. Franchisees are also obligated to spend a minimum of 1% of net sales on local marketing, although Moe's Southwest Grill can take over this obligation and direct the funds as they see fit.