According to a new Forrester Research report released at the Forrester Consumer Forum 2007 in Chicago, interactive marketing spending in the US will more than triple over the next five years, reaching $61 billion by 2012. The growth in interactive marketing spending represents a 27 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, and interactive marketing, 8 percent of all ad spending, will grow to 18 percent of total ad budgets in five years. Forrester Research Principal Analyst Shar VanBoskirk, said “These changes will… give interactive marketing professionals a more legitimate seat at the marketing table… with interactive marketing gaining executive visibility.. for its popularity with young consumers (as well as) measurability and cost effectiveness…”