Rifle adds podcasting to sports marketing mix with SHOUT acquisition

Rifle Agency (Rifle) has today announced the expansion of its sports and media offering through the acquisition of specialist podcasting business SHOUT Collective (SHOUT), giving brands new ways to connect with fans across video, audio and social.

Podcasting is now a core component of Rifle’s integrated model, acting as a mid-week bridge between traditional weekend sport and ongoing fan engagement. While sponsorship and broadcast moments anchor brand visibility during live sport, podcasting enables deeper, always-on connection from Monday to Friday through talent-led video, audio and social content.

The deal expands Rifle’s capability to take podcasts to market across YouTube, audio and social, strengthening its multi-platform proposition as Australia’s video podcast audience surges 40% year-on-year.

Podcasting now sits alongside Rifle’s broader offering across sports sponsorships, artist and ambassador partnerships, and cultural connection points in gaming. For brands looking to communicate through the platforms and communities they already love and trust, Rifle is uniquely placed to build integrated campaigns that connect across multiple passion points.

Rifle already counts McDonald’s, Kayo, Kings, Swyftx, Airbnb, CBUS and Vodafone among its podcasting and partnership clients, alongside leading brands across banking, finance and FMCG.

“Kayo has partnered with our talent for a number of years and deeply understands the media value we deliver. More importantly, they recognise the intangible value within these partnerships; it’s the talent, the alignment, and that subtle X factor that brings their brand story to life in a way traditional media can’t,” said Rifle Managing Director Andrew Christopher.

“That’s why brands are increasingly investing in podcasting; for reach, and for authentic, high-impact partnerships that resonate with highly engaged audiences.”

“Rather than considering podcasts as a single-channel buy, we are building campaigns designed to travel - they’re discovered and consumed on YouTube, heard in audio feeds, and amplified through short-form social clips and talent-led content,” said Andrew.

The multi-platform approach is designed to solve a common advertising challenge in podcasting: host-read integrations perform strongly but are often difficult to scale beyond one show at a time. By coordinating campaigns across a network, and packaging distribution across video, audio and social, Rifle enables brands to maintain authenticity while extending reach, frequency and creative variety.

“For brands, the appeal is not only in reach, but influence. Podcasts attract loyal, highly engaged communities, and a recommendation from an audience’s favourite podcaster carries significant resonance because it is delivered in the talent’s own voice, within the context of a trusted relationship built over time,” Andrew said.

Rifle’s expanding network includes talent such as Denan Kemp from NRL’s Bloke in a Bar; Braith Anasta and Reni Maitua from BTFU 180; Scott Pye and Elliot Barbour from motorsport podcast Apex Hunters United; and AFL’s Dylan Buckley from Dyl & Friends.

Unlike traditional ad formats, podcast partnerships can be multi-faceted: talent can talk to, test, demonstrate and comment on products in a way that feels natural to the show and its audience. With the added layer of video and social, brand integrations can extend from a host-read into visual moments, behind-the-scenes content, social cut-downs, live reads, giveaways, and longer-form storytelling - all anchored by the talent’s credibility.

“We know the power of podcasting for brands, and the consistent feedback from clients is that they love podcast integration because it feels real. It works because it’s deep, authentic and high impact, but traditionally it’s been high-touch and limited in scale,” said SHOUT founder Liam Daly.

“We’ve built a model that keeps the authenticity and lets brands roll out across multiple shows, particularly for cross-podcast concepts such as shared segments and talent appearing across each other’s shows to extend reach and conversation beyond a single program,” he said.

“Our unique and scalable solution now gives brands a way to run embedded partnerships across a network of shows, across video, audio and social - and we’re rapt to have Liam join us and lead that rollout for Rifle,” said Andrew Christopher.

Rifle leads the dynamic sports, gaming and music verticals to match brands with highly engaged audiences, offering services to both rights holders and clients to build mutually beneficial partnerships and value.