What are some examples of how the Brand Fund may be used for Southern Steer?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Brand Fund may be used for, but not limited to, production and placement of media advertising, media relations salaries, administrative costs and creating and testing direct response literature, social media, direct mailings, brochures, collateral material, field visits, annual Brand Conference, advertising, surveys, or other public relations expenditures, including agency costs and commissions and for other similar expenses. Advertising may be placed in local, regional, or national media of Our choice, including print, direct mail, radio, online media, e-mail, social media, or television. The Brand Fund will not be used to solicit Franchisees. If You request, We will send You an annual unaudited financial statement for the Brand Fund that indicates how the Brand Fund has been spent during the past fiscal year. We do not have the Brand Fund audited, so audited financial statements are not available. We assume no other direct or indirect liability or obligation to collect amounts due to the Brand Fund or to maintain, direct or administer the Brand Fund.
The Brand Fund will be administered by Us. We may be reimbursed from the Brand Fund for reasonable administrative costs, salaries, and overhead expenses related to the administration and operation of the Brand Fund and its programs, including conducting market research, preparing material, social media, and other programs as well as administration, collecting and accounting for Brand Fund contributions.
As of January 31. 2025, We have not collected any Brand Fund Contributions. In any fiscal year, an amount greater or less than the aggregate contributions of all Southern Steer Business to the Brand Fund may be spent in that year.
The Brand Fund may borrow from Us or other lenders to cover deficits or invest any surplus for future use on any terms that We determine. We may reimburse ourselves or other lenders for such loans from the Brand Fund. Any amounts that remain in the Brand Fund at the end of each year accrue and We may apply them toward next year's expenses. We also reserve the right to borrow excess funds from the Brand Fund periodically in Our discretion to support other efforts to develop the System. We do not guarantee that advertising expenditures from the Brand Fund benefit You or any other Franchisee directly or on a pro rata basis. We do not undertake any obligation to ensure that Brand Fund expenditures in or affecting any geographic area are proportionate or equivalent to the contributions of Franchisees operating in that geographic area or that any Franchisee will benefit directly or in proportion to its contribution to the Brand Fund from the development of advertising and marketing materials or the placement of advertising.
Source: Item 11 — ITEM. 11 FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 26–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Southern Steer's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Brand Fund is used for a variety of advertising, marketing, and administrative purposes. These include the production and placement of media advertising, media relations salaries, administrative costs, and the creation and testing of direct response literature. The fund also supports social media efforts, direct mailings, brochures, collateral material, field visits, the annual Brand Conference, advertising surveys, and other public relations expenditures, including agency costs and commissions.
Southern Steer may place advertising in various media, such as local, regional, or national print, direct mail, radio, online media, e-mail, social media, or television. The Brand Fund will not be used to solicit franchisees. Franchisees can request an annual unaudited financial statement for the Brand Fund, detailing how the funds were spent during the past fiscal year. However, the FDD specifies that the Brand Fund is not audited, so audited financial statements are not available.
Southern Steer administers the Brand Fund and may be reimbursed for reasonable administrative costs, salaries, and overhead expenses related to its administration and operation. This includes conducting market research, preparing materials, managing social media, and other programs, as well as collecting and accounting for Brand Fund contributions. As of January 31, 2025, Southern Steer had not collected any Brand Fund Contributions. The document also states that the amount spent in any fiscal year may be greater or less than the aggregate contributions of all Southern Steer businesses to the Brand Fund during that year.
Southern Steer retains the right to borrow from lenders or itself to cover deficits within the Brand Fund or invest any surplus for future use. Any remaining amounts in the Brand Fund at the end of each year accrue and may be applied toward the next year's expenses. Southern Steer also reserves the right to borrow excess funds from the Brand Fund to support other efforts to develop the system. However, Southern Steer does not guarantee that advertising expenditures from the Brand Fund will directly benefit any franchisee or be proportionate to their contributions.