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Emerging & Mature Franchisors

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To grow your franchise system, you'll need to inevitably advertise your franchise offering to prospective franchisees.


    

    
To offer and sell franchises and grow the brand, you’ll need a Franchise Disclosure Document that complies with state and federal law.  You’ll also need to advertise that franchises are available, whether through the Internet, social media, and email marketing campaigns, print media, traditional mass media (including radio and television), and trade shows.


There are some differences, however, when advertising franchises to prospective franchisees as opposed to products and services to consumers.







    

        

                        

                




                            

                    

        

                            

                                        Advertisements
                    
State Franchise Advertising Laws

                    
California, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington require you to file or register with the state any advertisements you want to use to offer or sell your franchise before your advertisements can be used in that state. In some of these states, the state must approve the content of the advertisement itself before you can use it. Minnesota and New York have specific disclaimers or other information that you must include in any advertisements as well.


In all states, any advertisements used to offer or sell franchises must be truthful and accurate, and consistent with your FDD.  Misleading advertisements can open you to fraud and deceptive advertising claims.

                    

                                        

                                    

                    

        


        

            





    

    



    

        




    





    
Services


We assist clients in reviewing and, if needed, revising, any advertisements. We’ll check that your advertisements:


    

  • contain legally required disclaimers
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  • are consistent with your Franchise Disclosure Document
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  • do not make unsupported claims (some states require claims about rankings be supported by data)
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  • do not make impermissible financial representations about the potential profitability of the franchise
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  • do not contain deceptive or false statements
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We also file or register advertisements with states that require it. And then we’ll help you comply with the laws that govern the offer or sale of franchises.