The Onion, America's Finest News Source, is the world's most popular and award-winning humor media company. After years of requests and after careful consideration the company has decided to offer franchise opportunities for its local newspapers and the locally focused portion of its entertainment website, The A.V. Club.
The Onion will supply franchisees with the highest quality humor and entertainment coverage each week, into which they can sell effective, high-impact print and online advertising.
WHY BUY AN ONION FRANCHISE?
- The Onion and The A.V. Club are huge national brands already recognized by readers and advertisers.
- The hard work of getting people to know the publication is already done.
- The Onion is absolutely unique. There is no comparable competition. Many have tried to replicate it; all have failed.
- Because The Onion is America's most popular humor website, there are audiences in every city waiting for a print edition.
- Because The A.V. Club is a rapidly growing national arts-and-entertainment website, there are audiences in every city familiar with it—and ready to see it in print, and online with content produced specifically for their city.
- The Onion provides both print and online advertising sales opportunities.
- The Onion draws an affluent, well-educated readership that is coveted by advertisers.
- When people ask what you do for a living, it feels great to say, "I work for The Onion."
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- The Onion will provide franchisees with content and layout (both advertising and editorial) for both the newspaper and the web. We also provide ad trafficking for the web.
- The franchisee will sell the advertising, as well as print and distribute the paper.
HOW MUCH CONTROL WILL A FRANCHISEE HAVE OVER THE EDITORIAL CONTENT?
- None. All editorial is produced by The Onion, and protected from changes. Leave the writing to us.
HOW CAN I QUALIFY FOR A FRANCHISE?
- The Onion is looking for individuals with a strong understanding of our brand of humor, prior sales experience with a track record of success, and the financial qualifications necessary to operate a profitable franchise.
- To learn whether there is an Onion franchise opportunity in your city, click the tab at the top and fill in a Franchise Inquiry Form.
WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT AND TRAINING CAN I EXPECT?
- The Onion offers a complete three day initial training session in your city.
- The Onion provides limited additional on-site training once the newspaper begins publishing at no expense to the franchisee.
- The Franchise Operations Manual has over 200 pages of explicit instructions on all facets of running an Onion franchise.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO OPENING AN ONION FRANCHISE?
- The candidate should review the Onion franchise material carefully.
- If the candidate is interested and meets the qualifications, a Franchise Inquiry Form should be filled out.
- The Onion will review the inquiry forms, and qualified candidates will receive an Onion Franchise Application.
- The Onion will review the Franchise Application, and qualified candidates will be interviewed by telephone.
- Qualified applicants will be given access to the current Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
- Candidate will submit business plan for franchise. If the plan and candidate is approved, a credit-history report and background check will be made, after which the candidate will be notified if they are approved or denied.
- A Franchise Agreement is provided to be signed and the franchise fee and/or asset purchase fees are paid.
- The Onion will send a representative to franchisee's city for training.
- The franchisee is expected to publish their first issue within three months of signing.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Contact us at franchising@theonionnation.com or write Franchising/Onion Nation, 212 W. Superior St. #200, Chicago IL 60654.
- Complete an Onion Franchise Inquiry Form. To access the form, click here.
Note: This is not an offer to sell you a franchise. An offer can only be by the prospectus in the form of a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). This document will be provided to you upon completion of an approved application.
This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise. It is for information purposes only.
Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sales of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable presale registration and disclosure requirements in your jurisdiction.