Discuss the three different levels at which marketing programs are funded and implemented in a franchise offering.

Generally marketing programs are funded and implemented at three different levels:national,regional,and local.A national advertising budget is typically controlled by the franchisor,and each franchisee contributes a percentage of top-line sales to the advertising fund.The franchisor then produces for use by the franchisees and,depending on the size of the fund,also buys media time or space on behalf of the franchisees.Because it is impossible to allocate these services equally between franchisees of different sizes across different markets,the license agreement will specify the use of "best efforts" to approximate equal treatment between franchisees.Although "best efforts" will invariably leave some franchisees with more advertising exposure and some with less,over time this situation should balance itself.This is one area of marketing that requires careful monitoring by both parties.Regional marketing,advertising,and promotion are structured on the basis of an area of dominant influence (ADI).All the stores in a given ADI should contribute a percentage of their top-line sales to the ADI advertising cooperative.The cooperative's primary function is usually to buy media using franchisor-supplied or franchisor-approved advertising and to coordinate regional site promotions.If the franchise has a regional advertising cooperative requirement in the license agreement,it should also have standardized ADI cooperative bylaws,which will outline things like voting rights and expenditure parameters.The third and final scenario for marketing is typically dubbed local advertising or local store marketing.At this level,the franchisee is contractually obligated to make direct advertising expenditures.There is often a wide spectrum of permissible advertising expenditures,depending on the franchisor guidelines in the license agreement.