Profile
Sandeep, originally from India, has invested 28 years in advertising and marketing, including the last 21 in Malaysia.
He co-founded Ampersand Advisory: its motto is “business results now!”. The company is recognized globally: it won Campaign’s Global Media Agency 2023, and was also recognized by Campaign at Cannes as one of the World’s Top Independent Agencies in 2023 and 2025.
The agency ranked amongst the Financial Times Statista 500 High Growth Companies in Asia Pacific for 3 years consecutively: 2023, 2024, 2025.
Sandeep has led various Malaysian and international brands to over 400+ awards for creativity, media and PR. Ampersand Advisory was the most awarded agency in Malaysia in 2024, ranked #1 in 7 different competitions, winning 127 awards. In 2025, the agency has won over 120 awards so far, including 50+ at the regional level in Asia. Ampersand Advisory was also the Overall Agency of the Year in Malaysia for 2024 and 2025, winning for PR Agency, Media Agency, Full Service Agency and Consultant of the Year.
Sandeep was recognized as one of Campaign’s 50overfifty (across Asia Pacific) as well as Agency Leader of the Year 2025 (AOTY awards, gold, Malaysia). He is a keynote speaker and has written over 150 columns. He is currently Exco member of the International Advertising Association (Malaysia).
Sandeep enjoys the adrenaline of unpredictability and AI. He believes in times of great flux, great opportunities arise.
As filmmaker, Sandeep has directed 25 short films, several corporate documentaries and 3 full length feature films, the most recent being The Ultimate Elevator Pitch, ranked #1 on iQiYi for 3 weeks in Malaysia. His loves include Manchester United (currently a pain point), the Rolling Stones, the films of Wong Kar Wai, photography and good food.
Synopsis
Topic:Fake versus Real: AI, coffee and three paradoxes for the future of marketing
In a world where authentic brands can suffer when they can’t speak loudly, and smart fakes and pretenders can flourish if they game the algorithms, what is effective marketing?
How can media be adequately earned, and what is the right balance between paid, owned and earned? While we obsess about full-funnel marketing, should we be thinking about the orchestration and engineering of full-stack communications instead?
As AI takes off, will creativity perish? Will brands be able to differentiate themselves and have their own voice when everything is made by AI and sounds…similar? As tonnes of content will get produced, can marketers find ways to declutter consumer minds? And can consumers cope with the onslaught on their privacy and mental space that lies ahead, or will they switch off?
Sandeep Joseph gazes into the future to explore, with examples from Malaysia and other parts of the world, what could unfold. He anticipates a world ruled by AI, and explores three key paradoxes inherent in that. And he will argue that brave, individualistic thinking can stand out and help brands rise above the endless noise, clamour and targeted chaos that will come.
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