Describe a time you had to defend your marketing budget or justify spend to leadership.

This is a core marketing management skill, and the answer must be financial rather than promotional.

• Lead with return, not activity. "This spend produced 340 customers at a blended acquisition cost of ₹4,200 against a lifetime value of ₹19,000" is the argument. Campaign descriptions are not.
• Separate the measurable from the necessary. Performance marketing defends itself on attribution. Brand investment does not, and needs a different argument: brand search volume, share of voice, the cost trend in performance channels as brand strength changes, or holdout tests. Pretending brand spend is directly attributable damages your credibility.
• Show what happens if it is cut. Modelling the pipeline impact of a reduction, with the lag, is far more effective than defending the current number. Marketing cuts show up in revenue one or two quarters later, and making that lag visible in advance is the whole argument.
• Come with options. Presenting what you would cut first, and what it costs, shows you are managing the company's money rather than protecting a territory.

Note: Being able to say you voluntarily cut something that was not working, before being asked, buys enormous credibility for everything else you defend.