Co-Create Network bagged the Bronze for the super category sector awards in retail at the afaqs! BrandStoryz Awards 2025 for best in content marketing. The award recognised the agency’s SMART Bazaar Poila Baishakh 2025 campaign, which used cultural storytelling and simple, relatable ideas to connect  with the audience. 

Co-Create Network’s Poila Baishakh campaign stood out for the way it brought the emotion of the festival  to life. Poila Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, is a time of joy, togetherness and the tradition of gifting and  wearing new clothes. The campaign beautifully aligned this regional festival with Smart Bazaar’s regional  connect. With this in mind, Bengal’s popular faces Subhashree Ganguly and Iman Chakraborty were chosen, with singer Iman Chakraborty perfectly complementing the campaign’s melodious tune. 

The campaign made a strong impression through its thoughtful storytelling, lyrics that resonate with the community, highlighting the essence of Poila Baishakh gifting, which is not restricted to loved ones and family alone but is beautifully extended to those who need love and warmth the most, the lesser privileged ones around us, thus reflecting the true spirit of the festival. 

The hookline, ‘Phire Ase Baishakh Tai Bare Bare, Banglar Praaner Ei Smart Bazaar-e’ (As Baishakh returns each year, Smart Bazaar stands at the heart of Bengal’s celebrations), was used strategically to convey that the festival is celebrated not only at home but also across the store which is nothing less than a huge family looking after each other and enjoying together. Families visit SMART Bazaar with their loved ones to pick up essentials and select thoughtful gifts for the season. This idea made the campaign distinctive, as the entire SMART Bazaar store became an integral part of the celebration. 

Conceptualised, written and picturised by Shalini Sen, the founder of Co-Create Network, the story effectively captured the key elements of this regional festival, making it highly relatable and engaging for the audience. 

“Born and brought up in a Bengali family, I knew exactly what to do for the SMART Bazaar Poila Baishakh campaign to catch people’s attention alongside making the brand visible during the festival through its unique communication approach. New dresses, gifting, haalkhata (new ledger book), cultural programmes, new calendars and the joy on people’s faces are the familiar nuances everyone connects with. Presenting them from a fresh perspective made the story truly unique,” she shared.

Co-Create Network highlighted that the campaign’s success was driven by strong teamwork and the trust shared between the agency and SMART Bazaar. “Big cheers to our partner SMART Bazaar for believing in the idea and appreciating the magic we created together,” Shalini Sen emphasised, acknowledging the partnership that made the win possible. 

This award strengthens Co-Create Network’s position in the content marketing space. It also demonstrates that cultural stories, when told with honesty and creativity, can make brand communication more engaging and effective. 

About Co-Create Network 

Co-Create Network is an integrated content solutions agency specialising in content marketing and brand storytelling. The agency focuses on collaborative approaches to create compelling campaigns that resonate with target audiences. Through its co-creation methodology, it partners with clients to develop innovative marketing solutions and collaborates with celebrities and influencers to drive engagement and achieve business objectives.

Co-Create Network website: https://cocreatenetwork.com/

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