Restaurant systemsrun twobudgets.
Franchise restaurant systems run the franchisor’s budget and the ad fund franchisees pay into. We review both: agency fees, media, technology fees and supplier programs, with the governance franchisees expect to see.
Where it goes wrong.
The ad fund is franchisees’ money held in trust, and they watch how it is spent. Agency fees, production and media decisions made at the center are felt at every restaurant.
Meanwhile every location carries its own software, connectivity and service contracts. Small per-store costs multiply across the system.
Ad fund agency fees
Scope and staffing that grew while the fee model stayed the same.
Working versus non-working spend
How much of the fund reaches media, and what each layer takes on the way.
Local and co-op marketing
Regional co-ops and local store marketing run on different rules and vendors.
Technology and delivery fees
Platform, ordering and loyalty fees charged per store or per order.
Supplier programs
Approved-supplier pricing, rebates and how they are disclosed.
Per-store contracts
Connectivity, phones, music, maintenance and security at every location.
How we help
The same approach as every engagement: a free call, a Second Opinion or a Diagnostic to size it, then the work run to the P&L.
An agency search planned in eight weeks, not eight months.
A growing QSR franchise group needed a media and digital partner that could support new-location openings across Canada and the US, and was open to compensation tied to performance.
Fix the fund before you pick the agency.
A franchise brand of about 400 locations asked what a fair agency retainer looked like. The bigger issue was the size of the ad fund paying for it.
Franchise brand funds, rebates and tech fees outside restaurants
In fitness, home care, education and auto service, the friction is not the royalty. It is the brand fund, the supplier rebate and the tech fee.
Where QSR franchise systems leak margin
Food and labor get the attention. The larger recoverable pools sit in brand-level vendor contracts and an ad fund built for a business the system has outgrown.
Straight answers.
Can you review an ad fund without upsetting franchisees?
Yes. A well-run fund review is what franchisees ask for: where the money went and what it returned. Findings go to the franchisor first.
Do you run agency searches for franchise systems?
Yes, including performance-linked fee models and input from franchisee advisory councils.
Tell us about the business.
Fifteen minutes. We will tell you where we would look first in a business like yours.