Lessons From the Campaign: Presidential Innovation Leader Speaks at SFIMA

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwire - Jan 29, 2013) - Michael Slaby (@slaby), chief integration and innovation officer for Obama for America 2012, takes the stage at the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association's February 13 meeting. Slaby and his passionate team of geeks and gurus masterfully integrated technology, social media and engagement to create a winning campaign. During his SFIMA talk, "Winning Hearts and Minds With Digital Technology," Slaby will discuss how the unification of media impacts customer engagement, what building political movements and building customer communities have in common, how B2B and B2C brands can most effectively manage digital technology, and more. Interactive marketers, public relations pros, social media strategists, IT directors, and email marketers at both for-profit and non-profit organizations will benefit from the conversation.

Slaby has been recognized as one of the driving forces behind President Obama's successful bid for a second term. As chief integration and innovation officer, he oversaw the entire back-end tech team, and helped ensure the effective integration of technology into the rest of the campaign. Most recently, he was the Digital Global Practice Chair at Edelman, and chief technology strategist for TomorrowVentures, Eric Schmidt's hybrid venture capital fund, where he worked with companies from Fortune 100 to angel-round start-ups on their technology, digital media, and organizational strategy.

"Michael Slaby and his team were able to achieve phenomenal success for Obama for America 2012 by implementing the trend-setting habits and tools he will share with our members and guests next month," said Joan Sparks, president of SFIMA. "His visit underscores SFIMA's commitment to provide a platform for respected industry leaders to exchange ideas, information and best practices with the South Florida digital marketing community."

During the 2008 campaign cycle, Slaby served as the chief technology officer for Obama for America and as technology director for the Presidential Transition Team. Before diving into politics and campaigns full-time, Slaby spent several years working in multimedia design, development and web application platform development with a series of start-ups. He lends his time to a number of non-profit organizations, including F*ck Cancer, Bright Pink, I Am That Girl, and others. He was named to Crain's Chicago 40 Under 40 list in 2011.

The Slaby event takes place Wednesday, February 13, at Gulfstream Park, Sport of Kings Ballroom (2^nd Level) in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Networking runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The discussion is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event is free for SFIMA members. Non-members pay $39 in advance, $49 at the door. To register, visit http://tinyurl.com/ak78qv5.

Sponsors for this month's event include BGT Partners (VIP reception); O'Donnell Agency (video); Edelman, Starmark and Simpli.fi (table). Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please contact sponsorship@sfima.com for details.

SFIMA news releases are distributed by wire distribution partner, Marketwire.

Now in its 10^th year, the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association is dedicated to educational excellence and expertise in digital marketing. The organization serves as the primary interactive voice in South Florida offering lifelong learning, top-notch networking and professional growth opportunities to marketers in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County. www.sfima.com, @SFIMA