Breaking barriers and building brands

Kara Sax and Tamara Keller like to say that fitting the mold has never been their “thing.” As Black women with diverse backgrounds, heritages and cultures — as daughters, partners, bosses, mothers, entrepreneurs, activists and friends — they resist any singular label.

So does their company, The Sax Agency. And that’s the point. The Los Angeles-based business is a full-service marketing, branding and advertising agency that focuses on multicultural and polycultural marketing. In other words, Sax and Keller specialize in serving audiences like themselves: those who want to bring their whole, multifaceted identities to the table.

Making commonalities their North Star

So what exactly are multicultural and polycultural marketing? According to Sax, multicultural marketing aims to connect with specific racial, ethnic or cultural groups by emphasizing unique characteristics of different identities. However, it can sometimes treat cultures as static and focus too much on people’s differences.

Polycultural marketing, on the other hand, sees cultures as dynamic and interconnected. It centers consumer voices so that they can authentically align with a brand, as opposed to forcing a fit, and always puts the audience first by recognizing the members’ intersectional identities.

“The first question people ask is, Who are the brands you market for?” Keller says. “And I tell people that’s the wrong question. The right question is, Who are the people you’re marketing to?"

Sax and Keller use the analogy of the North Star to define their approach. In their work, the North Star is a “unifier” that connects diverse audiences. A concept — like love, trust or compassion — that everyone can relate to. This approach helps them celebrate people’s individual identities while exploring the influence of interconnected relationships. As a result, everyone can engage with diverse stories and experiences beyond superficial representations.

“I think that’s what true polyculturalism is at its core,” Keller says. “It’s this idea of making your North Star the person and everything that person identifies with. Not just their color or just their religion or just where they come from. It’s about the whole conglomerate of the human being.”

In the business of inclusion

Sax and Keller founded The Sax Agency 12 years ago because, in Sax’s words, they were “trying to listen to the notes not being played.” They were tired of being marketed to in a way that felt inauthentic, and they knew they weren’t the only ones.

“We always say that to market to the community, you must be in it, and that sets us apart. We both serve,” Sax says. “When we started the agency, we were deeply embedded in our community and understood the voices and needs of those we served. This proximity allowed us to become better storytellers and architects of belonging.”

And that proximity pays. Their agency has serviced some of the most recognizable brands — including the Golden State Warriors, Universal Music Group, the NFL Players Association, the Memphis Grizzlies and Howard University — along with many nonprofit and government entities.

A special point of focus for both founders, though, is the arts. The Sax Agency has worked with a number of high-profile arts organizations to help them become more inclusive and diversify their audiences. They’ve even launched ambassador programs for major arts organizations to prioritize belonging.

“We do this because we understand that the arts are so central to education,” Sax says. “And that is always the thing that is taken first from communities of color.” By working with an abundance of arts organizations, they’re able to ensure the inclusion of audiences that have historically been left out.

A bank to grow with

Though The Sax Agency has a roster of household brands in its portfolio, business hasn’t always been easy. Sax describes the earliest years as “lots of making no money.” Especially after leaving well-paid corporate positions, Sax and Keller found starting their own business to be an uncomfortable, though rewarding, adventure.

“There are so many things you only learn on the job,” Keller adds, “and I think that every single day we’re still learning.”

That’s where a bank like Chase comes in. “As entrepreneurs, we need to stay in our lane, and banking is not it,” Sax says. Their relationship with Chase allows both founders to focus on what they do best while entrusting Chase with their finances.

They started with the Chase Business Complete Checking^® account, which served their needs at the time: depositing money and paying bills. But as their client list started to grow — along with the complexity of their financial needs and the size of their team — they needed more banking products.

Upgrading to a Chase Platinum Business Checking℠ account gave them access not only to services like no-fee transactions and cash management support but also to a banker who helps them find the products and services they need to elevate their business.

“Chase was such an amazing partner in helping us grow,” Sax says. “Initially, our relationship with Chase was just as a business banking partner. And it evolved into us doing work for Chase through their agency of record, which they advocated for us in partnering with.”

‘Mobile banking is everything for us’

Knowing that your bank has your back is huge. But what’s even better is having it with you wherever you go, especially when your job requires travel. “Mobile banking is everything for us,” Sax says. “I use Chase every day of my life. It is in my top-five apps.”

Chase’s mobile banking capabilities help Sax and Keller streamline life both on the road and at home in Los Angeles. Whether they need to pay vendors while traveling or juggle family responsibilities, the founders enjoy the convenience and ease of not having to physically go to the bank.

“It’s something as simple as being able to access both my personal and business accounts with my one user ID and password,” Keller says. “Whether it’s needed to send a payment to my manicurist, pay my auto loan or pay one of our business vendors, I can log in and do it all with just a couple of clicks.”

Ready, set, scale

With its banking locked in, The Sax Agency is now ready to scale. Sax and Keller currently employ a small but mighty team of 10, and they’re looking to aggressively grow that number to become the largest Black-owned, female-led agency in the country.

“We came to Chase with a big goal,” Sax says. “We recognized that less than 2% of the agencies in the country were Black-owned and women-led like us. And Chase took that really seriously.”

That vote of confidence — coupled with actionable support through Chase programs like the National Small Business Week marketing workshops, the Advancing Black Pathways program and the Make Your Move Summit — gives Sax and Keller extra zeal in working toward their goals.

“Banking with Chase as a small business is a very obvious choice. Frankly, it’s one of the best choices we have made,” says Sax. “It is the partner that’s convenient. It’s the partner that we can rely on. It’s the partner that’s trustworthy. And it’s the partner doing the most work in the community.”