The NRA spent seven times more on Facebook ads following Parkland shooting
The National Rifle Association (NRA) more than quadrupled its digital ad spend across the board following a high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, aggressively pushing its message across digital platforms in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Following a four-day blackout period, the NRA increased Facebook spend to an average of $34,000 per day / Time
The bulk of the NRA's spend was focused on social media platforms in the weeks after the incident, namely Facebook where it increased investment by more than seven-fold.
According to figures obtained by the Chicago Tribune from online ad data firm Pathmatics, the pro-firearms lobbying group's average daily spend on digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube, as well as across digital banner ads, amounted to $11,300 prior to Parkland.
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, which took place on February 14, the NRA paused all digital advertising for a total of four days.
However, in the 24 days since reassuming spend the average amount funneled into digital leapt significantly to $47,300 per-day.
According to Pathmatics' data, the biggest increase on spend was on Facebook where the NRA increased spending from an average of $4,400 a day in the three weeks prior to the Parkland incident to $34,000 a day in the three weeks after its brief ad silence; more than a seven-fold increase.
Florida one of the most-heavily targeted states over the same time period, jumping from the NRA's ninth most targeted region in January to the third most-targeted between the middle of February to mid-March.
YouTube spend, it seems, was also more heavily concentrated. Where the NRA has placed at number 706 on Pathmatics' list of top YouTube video advertisers, since the 21 of February it has ranked at number 92.
The figures follow on from the March for Our Lives protest in the US, in which hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington DC to call for tighter gun laws.
Time magazine put the issue front and centre of its latest issue, featuring survivors from the tragedy - in which 17 were killed - on its cover (above). Students including Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg and Cameron Kasky were among those featured on the splash alongside the simple cover line: 'Enough'.
Several brands have lent their voice to the anti-gun movement including WeTransfer which yesterday donated 100% of its ad space to a wallpaper in support of "common sense" legislation. Others, like Hertz, have terminated their contracts with the NRA.