LePub Singapore Helps Brands Behave like Curious Locals, Not Global Tourists

With a vision to build “a small, sharp, high impact creative powerhouse”, LePub Singapore’s managing director, Penny Sadlier has two key goals: be the most culturally ambitious and creatively influential agency “that Asia is proud of and the world pays attention to.”

Together with ECD Stephan Schwarz, Penny is looking for clients who are tired of blending in and ready to stop talking at people, and start mattering to them. “For us, bold creativity is the business strategy,” she says. “Safe work costs more because no one remembers it. At LePub, we back ideas that tap into cultural tensions and earn disproportionate attention. When an idea earns its way into culture, media works harder and budgets go further.”

In Asia, where ‘culture’ can look radically different from one market to another, being relevant means “listening harder, collaborating with communities and showing up with authenticity,” Penny says. “When a brand behaves like a curious local instead of a global tourist, people feel it and let you in.”

For Stephan, this challenge is the appeal of the job. “To have a set of countries that have so many different behaviours, languages and cultures makes our creative work both easier and harder,” he says. “Easier because of the wealth of different and unique insights, and harder because we need to do it right.”

The team’s dedication to cultural relevance is evident through campaigns such as ‘Rooftop Revival’ for Heineken, inspired by the ‘proximity paradox’ that exists in Seoul, where social disconnection prevails despite physical closeness.

The campaign involved transforming forgotten urban spaces into hubs of social connection – challenging the trend of productivity-first city living and giving people a fresh space to socialise, garnering interest from over 8000 Seoulites.

On creating work with real-life impact, Stephan believes in a very simple truth: “Ideas have power. They cut through noise, echo chambers, and clutter. How we shape and nurture those ideas remains the biggest challenge we face.”

When it comes to crafting culturally sharp work, Penny admits, it isn’t easy, “but when everyone’s chasing the same ambition, it’s electric,” she says. For this reason, the past several months have seen the team focused on recruiting the right talent. “We now have an incredible team who all feel personally responsible for making the work unmissable,” Penny shares. “The bar is clear: if it’s not worth sharing, it’s not LePub.”

When asked about what makes them a great team in leadership, Penny and Stephan credit a shared philosophy: creativity and commercial impact must be the same conversation. “Stephan pushes the work to be brave, culturally sharp and crafted with taste. I make sure it lands and drives business,” Penny says.

Looking ahead, Penny acknowledges that AI is changing how we create, “but taste and originality of ideas remain human,” she says. “Data should uncover the human or cultural tension. Creativity should turn it into something people want to engage with. Purpose should guide the brand to do something that matters, not just say something that sounds good. When those three fuel each other, brands earn real relevance and a place in people’s lives.”