Is Petro Stopping Center required to spend any amount on advertising in a franchisee's Protected Area?

According to Petro Stopping Center's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Petro Stopping Center is not required to spend any amount on advertising within a franchisee's protected area. However, franchisees are required to pay a monthly advertising fee of $3,000, which is subject to annual CPI adjustments, to support the Petro brand.

The advertising fees collected are used for various marketing and public relations activities, such as general brand messaging, media campaigns, customer engagement, public relations, trade shows, website maintenance, market research, and other brand support initiatives. Petro Stopping Center has sole discretion over these activities, including creative concepts, materials, and geographic placement.

While Petro Stopping Center aims to benefit all locations, it does not guarantee that advertising expenditures in any specific area will be proportionate to a franchisee's advertising fee payments or that any location will directly benefit in proportion to its fees. For the year ending December 31, 2024, the franchisor spent the monthly advertising fees on production costs (15.6%), media placement (63.4%), administrative expenses (7%), research (1.6%), and other expenses (12.4%).