According to the magazine, the change was prompted by two factors: The Economist's desire for a global approach to its advertising and PHD's decision last September to take its £30m outdoor business away from Outdoor Connection - a Kinetic sister agency - and place it with Posterscope.
The move put an end to a highly successful partnership. PHD's work with Outdoor Connection and the creative agency AMV BBDO had helped to make The Economist a famous outdoor brand, with award-winning campaigns.
Jacqui Kean, global brand marketing manager for the magazine, said: "From one day to the next, PHD moved from Outdoor Connection to Posterscope. That wouldn't have been our decision. Most people want to choose the agencies they work with and not have them chosen for them."
The Economist spends about £1m a year on outdoor and its UK media spend, of which a large proportion goes on direct mail, totalled £3.4m in 2004 and £2.2m last year, according Nielsen Media Research estimates.
Kinetic, which is 50% owned by WPP, will plan and buy outdoor for The Economist in the UK, France and the US, which accounts for half of the magazine's one million circulation.
The Economist is not seeking a replacement for PHD in the UK at this time. PHD will continue to work with the magazine in the US.
In the UK, former PHD executive Paul Gummer has been hired as a global media strategy consultant.
Kinetic has planned the spring outdoor campaign, which breaks in May and will help with a big outdoor push in North America.
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