Become A Sponsor

Are you looking for new, exciting ways to promote your company, attract potential customers and capitalize on your participation at the International Business Summit 2011?

IBS 2011 offers a variety of sponsorship opportunities that give you a chance to do all that and more. With a sponsorship, you will get a wide range of publicity for your company through the IBS web site, expo brochures, e-mail updates, and signage throughout the expo.

To find the sponsorship opportunity that best suits your company’s needs, please download our sponsorship registration form.

Dear Prospective Sponsor:

The International Business Summit (“IBS”) is an annual event that brings together the resources of our region’s diverse communities, to build economic prosperity for the Tampa Bay area. IBS is a committee of many Bi-national Chambers of Commerce and Trade Association in the Tampa Bay area who organizes this event.

Vision: IBS draws together members of the Suncoast business area, to leverage our extensive networks, reaching both our diverse regional community and our worldwide contacts. As such, it supports local collaboration, innovative thinking and economic growth. It also creates practical opportunities and contacts for the many trade and business opportunities that our region can build through our local bi-national communities, and their associations throughout the region, nation, and the world.

Implementation: IBS is focused on an annual event, or summit, but is also a year-round process of networking, supported by a strong Board, close contact between the chambers, and by cross-chamber involvement in chamber events.

IBS provides networking and education, and three break-out tracks, collaboration, diversity and prosperity.

Local businesses benefit from the many valuable opportunities that lie in our diverse community. IBS provides a forum for strengthening understanding, fast-tracking entrepreneurship and consolidating trust. Smaller businesses meet each other, and meet larger companies. Larger businesses look to IBS to help them build strong, local and diverse vendor bases, and to connect with the many economic resources, talented people, customers and business partners in their community.

Business people with international needs or projects benefit from IBS’s paths to new business ideas and prospects. They find business support and mentorship from local partners, as well as many cultural, training and economic resources. The route to the “flat world” of the 21st Century begins with our own neighbors, who have the knowledge and ability to guide, support or promote our region, as we become employers, employees, suppliers, customers, outsource resources or other types of partners in the worldwide business community.

The next International Business Summit is Thursday, March 10, 2011.

IBS Sponsorship Opportunities:

IBS works with organizations in the region to help them gain important visibility and be an integral part of the mission of diversity, prosperity and collaboration.

Some of our sponsors have been interested in IBS as a means to:

• Present a specific message to those who use their products and services (e.g. businesses and people who are more internationally-connected, culturally diverse, more likely to travel, multi-lingual etc).
• Raise awareness of their corporate brand, employment brand, products or services in general.
• Initiate new business, especially through contacts at the speed-networking.
• Build relationships in a trust-based forum, with companies and people from demographics whom they do not regularly meet.
• Find ways of taking cost out of their supply chains by meeting small and/or minority owned suppliers, or links into international supply chains.
• Build cultural fluency skills and connections for their team members, or improved interest and engagement amongst employees who work in diversity or intercultural/multinational marketing.
• Demonstrate good corporate citizenship while supporting economic development.
• Research and share new thinking, ideas and opportunities.

IBS Board members meet with prospective sponsors to understand their needs and objectives, and to discuss ways in which IBS and the bi-national chambers can help to achieve the sponsor’s goals.

Further IBS Information:

IBS is a full-day event, held in beautiful, graceful surroundings. 2011 will be the fiftth annual IBS event with an expected turnout of 400 – 600 people.

The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 7.30ish after the Cultural Reception and Awards Event. We work closely with the universities to involve many business students in the event, and have had excellent feedback from this initiative.

If you are interested in supporting the growth of Tampa Bay through IBS, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and to discuss opportunities to work together, to make IBS a successful event for your organization, and an economic asset to our region.

Sincerely,

Grant D. Petersen
President, IBS Board.

IBS 2011 Sponsorship Form and Registration Form