"There is no dearth of marketing talent in Singapore."

When it comes to attracting the right talent for the job, Mayank Dutt, country marketing and digital acquisition head for Citibank Singapore, is of the view that "marketers are born and not created". That being said, he also believes "there is no dearth of marketing talent in Singapore and the region".His views ring true at a time where Singapore is coming up as one of the top leading markets in global talent competitiveness, according to a recent study by global business school INSEAD.Dutt explained that an organisation has to provide a platform which allows candidates to hone their creativity, test their skills, and equip them with strategies and goals that allow them to showcase their ideas and thoughts. As such, to be able to attract the right talent, having brand equity is not enough.To be equipped for the future, Dutt also noted  that marketers need to have a “quiver of digitally-enabled arrows”.“Marketers need to ensure that they are agile enough to immerse themselves into new spheres in the digital and social landscape. They also need to have the right training and capabilities to help them hone these very skills,” he added.Becoming a better marketerTo become better marketers, agency partners are also integral to a marketers growth. They help a marketer create successful customer experiences and staying ahead in the marketing landscape.If this relationship is disjointed, then it is very easy for a strategy to fail. I always say that it takes two hands to clap and one hand to slap."Agency partners and marketing teams need to sing from the same hymn sheet, and when that happens, more often than not, you can create the remarkable,” he said. When asked about what are the kind of challenges he faces as a marketer, Dutt said that it is important to look at challenges as opportunities.The digital and fintech revolution“The biggest opportunity I see as a marketer today is being able to engage customers differently through digital. This is important to ensure relevancy and the alignment of our efforts with our customers’ evolving needs and preferences,” he explained. He also to “demystify” the perceived complexity of navigating digital and make the most of the many opportunities it offers.“In Singapore, people are highly digitally and socially engaged, hence marketers such as myself are presented with the unique opportunity to conceptualise and create more effective strategies that ride on the digital wave,” he explained. He also views Singapore as one of the countries which are at the forefront of financial technology (fintech), a tool which has been experiencing rapid change in the banking industry in the past few years.“With the emergence of fintech, we have had to be far more agile and adaptive while keeping the customer experience in the center of all that we action. This has and will enable us to stay ahead of the curve,” Dutt added.