Know-How Exchange : Branding

As Phil said, attaching ROI to branding is difficult at best. And CFOs and financial people hate to see numbers that could be considered a "stretch".

You may be able to use a competitor comparison, though. For example: Sony and Samsung (?) produce pretty much the same TV (even out of the same factory, I think). But Sony charges something like 10% higher prices. Consumers pay a premium because Sony is a luxury brand. Check my numbers if you want to use that story, but you get the idea.

Your second & fourth questions are more answerable, although they are big questions for a forum. I would highly recommend the book "Kellogg on Branding" as a start.

As for the brand elements, it totally depends on the company and strategy. By elements, what do you mean? Do you mean strategies, or tactics, or...? One thing I think that all the well-branded companies do, is they know exactly who they are (what their brand is), and they act authentically. They may employ different tactics - social media, traditional PR, direct, etc. - but their communication is true to who they are. Harley is all about being a rebel and freedom, Ben & Jerry's is about social/environmental consciousness, American Girl is about girls and learning. And everything they do remains true to that.

A brand can be tracked over time with qualitative and quantitative measures. Again, depends on the industry and company. Software companies might track the helpdesk questions they receive and reviews. A big consumer retail products company might have more sophisticated tracking mechanisms, using focus groups, secret shoppers, web surveys and sales tracking. Sorry to be vague in the answer, but it's a big question.