NRA increased online ad spending sixfold after Parkland
The National Rifle Association halted its advertising immediately after the Parkland, Fla. school shooting, but redoubled its efforts within four days of the tragedy.
It spent so recklessly after the short-lived dark period that its ads even appeared on YouTube videos aimed at children.
On Feb. 14 2017, a former student left 17 dead leading to a masive movement by students to force a change in gun laws.
The NRA spent more than six times as much on digital ads after the mass shooting than it did in the weeks before the Valentine’s Day massacre, according to data from Pathmatics, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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The gun-rights group spent an average of $11,300 a day in the 24 days before Parkland — a figure that jumped to $47,300 in the 24 days after the tragedy.
The group pumped money into ads on social media — primarily Facebook — where spending jumped from an average of $4,400 a day in the three weeks before Parkland to $34,000 a day in the three weeks after the silent period. according to the report.
The group targeted Florida in its ad spending bump — the state went from the ninth most-targeted in January to the third most-targeted between mid-February and mid-March, the data shows.
The NRA’s message remained the same but was pushed harder. according to the report.
The group’s spending was so indiscriminate that that its ads appeared on a You Tube channel for school-age children called Kids’ Toys, according to Pathmatics, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“From an advertising perspective, it’s interesting because this event energized the NRA’s base. But from the tone-deafness of the response, I’m very surprised,” Pathmatics CEO Gabriel Gottlieb told the Chicago Tribune.
Related: See scenes from the March For Our Lives rally:
