• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 1, 2013

Interpublic has appointed McCann Worldgroup’s Julian Ingram to oversee IPG Oxygen. It's a new strategic business unit that was created to service the recently won global marketing and communications AOR assignment from Saudi Arabia-based petrochemical conglomerate Sabic.

The scope of work for the Sabic account covers all areas of communications, including advertising, media planning and buying, public relations, design, event management and sponsorships. Sabic awarded IPG the assignment in January after a holding company pitch that began in July 2012 and included WPP, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group.

Sabic’s ad spend in the U.S. has been minimal -- only $8,000 in 2011 according to Kantar. But at an investor conference earlier this week, IPG CEO Michael Roth characterized the Sabic assignment as “the big one,” among recent wins by the holding company and its agencies. According to a source familiar with the situation, Roth’s remark can be interpreted to mean that the Sabic win is worth millions in revenue and will be material to IPG’s financial performance in 2013.

Roth didn’t disclose how much revenue is tied to the account. But he told attendees at the investor conference, organized by Morgan Stanley: “We’re feeling much better going into ’13 as far as our [new business] pipeline than we did in ’12.”

Ingram, who will retain his McCann Worldgroup executive vice president stripes, is tasked with drawing upon resources throughout IPG to service the Sabic account. Key staff for the new unit will come from McCann Worldgroup and PR firm Weber Shandwick, among others.

Samir Al-Abdrabbuh, vice president corporate communications, credited IPG with presenting a “strong consolidated business approach that will serve our entire spectrum of communications activities." The company has “very high expectations. ... to tell the Sabic story in a powerful and compelling way across the globe,” he stated.

Founded in 1976, Sabic reported 2011 revenues of nearly $51 billion and a net profit of $7.8 billion. The company’s businesses are grouped into chemicals, polymers, performance chemicals, fertilizers, metals and innovative plastics. It employs 40,000 people in more than 40 countries.

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