Usually the domain of a different industry altogether, suggestive wordplay has gotten a financial planner into hot water and landed her in court.

The term in question: “Financial Foreplay.”

Registered as a trademark in 2016 by Melbourne accountant Rhondalynn Korolak, ‘financial foreplay’ was also the term used by financial planner, Canna Campbell to promote her podcast series until March 2021.

Seeking a public apology, damages and legal costs, Korolak took Ms Campbell to court last week, claiming her use of ‘financial foreplay’ was an infringement of the trademark and “injured the goodwill and reputation” of Ms Korolak.

Registering domain names in 2009, as well as a Facebook account in 2011, a YouTube account in 2012 and even a Twitter account in 2010, all using the term ‘financial foreplay’, Ms Korolak even wrote a book called ‘Financial Foreplay’, published in 2009. 

Founder and director of financial media platform SugarMamma, Campbell has since rebranded her podcast, “SugarMamma Fireplay.”

While she claims the podcast only made a paltry $160, Ms Campbell established lucrative sponsorship deals with a number of financial firms including ING, Athena Home Loans and Klarna. From these partnerships, she earned a more muscular $385,000 in revenue. 

Speaking of her podcast, Campbell told the court, “they are about giving back and helping fix the financial literacy problem in Australia.”

Not only is Ms Campbell a financial planner, she has also become a highly successful social media influencer. 

The Sydney-based mother provides financial tips via the media, through her books, and in particular, her own YouTube channel, SugarMamma TV, which has more than 126,000 subscribers. 

It is through her previous reputation as an established financial planner, as well as the ‘goodwill’ that has been built up, that Campbell’s lawyer attributes to the popularity and success of her podcast. 

Whatever the court result, unfortunately for one of the parties involved, this ‘financial foreplay’ won’t lead to a happy ending.

Sources:

• The Australian, Subscribe for award winning journalism
• The Australian, financial planner and social media identity
• ntnews, social media influencer canna campbell
• 9Now news, High profile influencer in Federal Court copyright showdown