Brand Experience · Social Strategy · Content Direction

Benzel-Busch is the flagship of Blacksmith Automotive Management, which operates three luxury dealerships across Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York: Benzel-Busch Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz of Orange County, and Genesis of Englewood. Through an agency partnership, the goal was to build a content-driven pipeline that moves audiences from marketing outreach to the showroom floor.

Overview

Miami Grand Prix Watch Party

Benzel-Busch brought the agency a VIP client event: an F1 watch party at the Englewood dealership, hosted with Lorige. The brief was to bring Miami to New Jersey. Working under our creative director, I took that idea from pitch through the room itself and out across social, shaping how the night looked in person and how it reached everyone who wasn’t there.

Concept to Execution

Concept + Pitch

Coastal Drift

One-day pop-up experience in the Benzel-Busch showroom. Six weeks from brief to doors open.

Bring Miami to Englewood, for one night. Not race day, the week around it. An all-white South Beach environment, sheer fabric, soft light, and Formula 1 handled as Art Basel style installations so the sport read as art instead of branding. That was the moment that sold it.

Social Marketing

Assets

Three visual systems had to coexist: Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Mercedes-Benz corporate, and Benzel-Busch’s own personality, all filtered through the Miami direction. The harder problem was the audience. This was invite-only, but the feed reaches everyone, so the content had to build anticipation without making the majority feel shut out. Aspirational rather than exclusive.

Social rollout

Planned and scheduled content before, during, and after, running alongside the regular monthly calendar so the event built momentum without overtaking the feed. Coordinated freelance coverage for day-of capture and set the handoff timing so assets landed fast enough to post while the event was still fresh afterwards.

Event collateral

Signage built for guest photo moments.

Swag bag posters VIP guests took home.

Day of + Recap

On-site to shoot and direct freelance coverage. We went in knowing what the recap needed, so the night was captured with intent rather than shot wide and sorted later. Afterward, I worked with the freelance team and our account director on recap deliverables for social rollout across the client and partner channels.

The Challenge:

The dealership group relied heavily on corporate-provided assets, limiting differentiation across locations. Their social presence lacked consistency and original storytelling, creating an opportunity to engage local audiences better and strengthen the path to conversion.

Role + Responsibilities:

Art Director · Social Media Manager · Production Assistant

Content Strategy

Built monthly content calendars focused on engagement and brand storytelling
Balanced promotional content with lifestyle and community-driven posts

Creative Direction

Shifted the visual identity toward original, lifestyle-driven content while strategically integrating corporate assets
Ensured consistency across multiple dealership brands