It never ceases to amaze me how the power of digital can turn amateur footage and perfectly captured calamities into a global phenomenon in the space of a few hours. Take the unfortunate owner of Benton (or Fenton as he’s now been revealed), a cheeky deer chasing Labrador, who, on a stroll around Richmond Park, became an overnight internet sensation at the hands of someone with a smart phone and access to YouTube.

The hilarious “Jesus Christ in Richmond Park” has been viewed over 600,000 times (at the time of writing this) since being uploaded only a few days before. Having been picked up by various media figures and publications, the viral initiated a host of parodies including Benton in London (American Werewolf in London), Benton Vs Bambi and Jurassic Park Benton, as well as the creation of a spoof Twitter account @BentonsOwner dedicated to the frantic “Oh Jesus Christ” shouting dog chaser.

You can’t help but wonder if the owner of Benton is actually aware of his infamy, and what success the stress of trying to catch up with his eager four legged friend and a herd of deer will bring to his life.

It was recently reported that YouTube fame can become a nice little earner for the stars of well timed video moments that go viral. The family of finger biting Charlie (Charlie Bit My Finger), arguably one of the biggest viral videos of recent times, have made over £100,000 from its success by introducing ads and signing up to YouTube’s partner programme.

For businesses trying to cash in on viral victory, the path to success is tricky as you have be very original when trying to create a video which will be shared and viewed by audiences, who are not necessarily interested in your brand or product. The point of a viral is that it gains you notoriety and brand recognition, and this needs to be remembered when coming up with a concept. The objective is that, yes, it does have an effect on your ROI but ultimately its first step is to create a buzz around your brand…one that will be associated to whatever content you put out there.

Earlier this month web agency SapientNitro posted a cringe inducing music video on their Facebook page which rapped about the role of their ‘Idea Engineer’. Predictably, from the minute it appeared the video was ridiculed and in a moment of thoughtlessness SapientNitro deleted the post and comments which resulted in a huge backlash and over exposure of the content, when it was re-uploaded onto YouTube and became the feature of many blogs. Their, probably heavily planned and costly, video became the target of many critics and their understanding of digital media was questioned. It really couldn’t have seemed worse for SapientNitro at the time – on the flip side though, it did get them trending on Twitter for a day or two!

The argument when it comes to achieving viral success is…is all publicity good publicity? Of course digital experts and agencies are going to voice their opinion if your video results in as many gasps of horror as SapientNitro’s, but ultimately they did achieve increased brand recognition…it’s just a shame that from now on their industry peers will always remember them as a badly rapping idea engineer surrounded by a small entourage of awkward looking ladies. SapientNitro’s clients may have loved it though, and in terms of recruitment its most likely not had a detrimental impact.

It should be said that SapientNitro are not the first company or web specialist to try and achieve success through a badly devised music video, and we’re sure they won’t be the last. Let’s face it though, unless you can compete with the likes of Yeo Valley it might be best to stick to something closer to your talents.

For those of you who haven’t yet come across possibly one of the most successful YouTube business case studies, let me introduce you to Blendtec. Makers of the ‘world’s best blenders, mixers and mills’, Blendec have made a series of videos showing how their product can blend pretty much anything. From iPad’s to Golfballs, Justin Bieber to Old Spice (nice little social media reference there) The Will it Blend? Campaign gained them over 400,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel , millions of hits and most importantly an enormous uplift in sales.

Bendtec YouTube Channel

Viral success is one big experiment and whether you’re an unsuspecting dog owner, a high profile web agency or the maker of blenders you really can’t predict how far a simple upload will take you. There are no rules, just a hungry audience waiting to rate your efforts if you’re fortunate (or in the case of some unfortunate) enough to get noticed in the first place. You can stick to what you know best or create something that appeals to a mass audience but is so far removed from your actual service or product you create a new identity.

One thing you can learn from though is others…Lesson One. Don’t rap unless you can. Lesson two. Don’t let your dog off the lead when around deer.