Initiative estimated the account at US$250 million although other sources pegged it at $90 million. The briefs were previously split between Initiative and MindShare.
The planning accounts remain the responsibility of Hakuhodo:Lintas and AsatsuDK on a brand-by-brand basis. However, MindShare Japan chief executive officer Andrew Meaden said the loss was less of a blow than might have been expected.
"We are obviously disappointed but Nippon Lever represents less than 10 per cent of our overall agency income and we are confident that we will replace the income very quickly."
He added that the agency was experiencing double-digit growth this year and that the Nippon Lever move would not lead to any staff cutbacks.
Initiative, which uses Japan's second-largest agency Hakuhodo as its media buying partner, picks up a number of new brands to handle as a result of the consolidation, including Dove, Lux and Ponds. There was no change in the creative assignments, which remain with Ogilvy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson and Hakuhodo:Lintas.
Nippon Lever puts its account up for pitch every three years.
Agency executives, who have worked on the business, say that fees and commissions have come down with each review.
They added that the account is barely profitable and involves an enormous workload.
Agency profitability was one factor that led Carat-SPI to decline to repitch in 2000, when the account last went into review.