
Meet Laura, founder
of ImpactAlly

Laura Swindley, a marketing strategist with a social conscious
My marketing career began humbly at Bunnings, in a time when catalogue and TV were king, and digital media was just starting to find its feet. At the time, there was no centralised community engagement focus, so, in addition to my existing responsibilities in event management, I was able to fuel an underlying passion for truly meaningful work. By supporting the development of Bunnings’ grassroots community engagement strategy and contributing to key fundraising projects (including the Black Saturday Sausage Sizzle which raised more than $1 million), I realised I yearned for something more.
Though I loved marketing, I felt drawn to work that could truly make a difference to someone’s lives. Deep down I knew it was time to leave Bunnings and channel my career into a slightly different, yet more meaningful, direction.
A strong strategic foundation to build a career
Yes, I was fortunate to kick off my career at one of Australia’s greatest brands and success stories – Bunnings Warehouse, at a pivotal time in their growth trajectory. As I began my career working in the marketing team for this Aussie icon, I failed to understand – and I think, probably took for granted – just how much they had perfected their business strategy and understood the market they operated in. I was too green at that time, to see that the exposure I would gain over almost a decade, to their strong commercial and competitive strategy and to their customer experience focus, would provide to me the strongest of foundations for my career going forward.
Across the next decade, I was able to allow my love for strategic marketing to truly flourish and ensure even the tightest budgets delivered outstanding results. From the implementation and evolution of SEM and SEO campaigns and creation of go-to-market strategies which allowed life-changing services to expand into new markets, I grew my knowledge and understanding of the marketing realm. As the landscape changed, so did I, taking each organisation I worked for on a continual customer-centric orientation evolution, through the CX mapping of employee, client and donor journeys enabling greater insights into customer behaviour, pain points and value.
Today, as AI rapidly changes the entire shape of marketing – from search and SEO, to CRM and content management and from an ethical perspective , I embrace change with understanding and curiosity to ensure I stay at forefront of these changes for my clients.


I believe storytelling makes for great marketing – and is useful too.
I’m a firm believer that story is at heart of great marketing – I first learnt this as I ventured into fundraising in relation to donor communications however I truly believe storytelling is the best way to connect with any audience – not just donors. Well told stories allow us to understand, to empathise, and to relate – this ensures we can really connect with any brand or cause.
Data can also tell us a story. Sometimes it leads us to an obvious ending, yet many times, it directs us to opportunity. Having worked in evidence-based health organisations that relied on data to determine if their carers, practitioners or workers were making a difference (which often meant access to more funding) I understood that in order for marketing to demonstrate the value of our campaigns or communications, I needed to show our effectiveness in measurable terms – namely ROI or ROAS or some other relevant metric.
Experience working for strong brands making even stronger impact
Needing support to drive your business growth?
Contact Laura today to discuss how we can elevate your marketing and communications program.