American Express Canada has partnered with celebrity gossip blogger Elaine Lui, the founder of LaineyGossip.com. As part of the one-year partnership, Lui—an official Amex ambassador—will blog about her experiences as a platinum cardholder.
Elaine Lui credit: Mirza Noormohamed, Wandering Eye Photography
“We felt like she was a perfect fit for the brand,” said Lauren Dineen-Duarte, director of public affairs and communications at American Express Canada. “The experiences [Lui writes about] have to be really authentic, which is important to us. And she has a built-in audience of people who are really dedicated and follow her exclusively.”
One of the world’s top online gossip destinations, LaineyGossip.com has expanded in recent years to include lifestyle and fitness content. The site draws 1.5 million unique visitors a month and Lui has become a celebrity in her own right. Aside from running LaineyGossip, Lui is a co-host on CTV’s The Social and is a correspondent for CTV’s eTalk. She also recently published her first book, Listen to the Squawking Chicken, a memoir about her mother.
In her first blog post for the brand, Lui wrote about some of the travel benefits platinum cardholders receive. “They will pamper you—like a celebrity. Especially when you travel. You want to cruise past the security line at the airport? Done. You want to hide in the executive lounge before your flight, throw back a few cocktails (free, obviously) and fill up so you don’t have to eat plane food? Done.”
Aside from the travel perks, Lui will blog about other cardholder benefits, such as exclusive access to events. “It’s not just the idea of them, but actually experiencing these events and writing about what it’s like,” said Dineen-Duarte.
Lui is now one of six official blogger ambassadors for Amex. The others are: Deb Corbeil and Dave Bouskill (The Planet D), Catriona Lamb (Coco and Cowe), Tyrone Edwards (1LoveTO), Wendy Marcy (Hip Urban Girl) and Carrie Anne Badov (Everything Mom).
Amex first launched its blogger program in 2009, and now works with more than 50 bloggers in addition to the core group of ambassadors. “It’s really about bringing a lot of the intangible pieces of our brands to life,” said Dineen-Duarte. “The bloggers and ambassadors are able to do that in an authentic way. We love that it’s in their voice and that it’s authentic to their audiences. We don’t try to change that in any way.”
