The Company seeks to build andoperate businesses where significant value can be created from the developmentof unique assets, and to acquire businesses which it identifies as undervaluedand where its management participation in operations can aid in the recognitionof the businesses' fair value, as well as create additional value.The PICO Holdings, Inc. logo is available at http:// PICO Holdings, Inc Damian C. Georgino, Executive Vice President-Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer (858) 652-4132. Campaign helps The RoomPlace achieve triple-digit percent ROI; Usman Group beatsout much larger competitors and exemplifies innovation on a budget.CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--The Usman Group, a boutique interactive marketing firm won "Best InternetAdvertising" campaign during the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing`s(CADM) 38th annual Tempo Awards.

Winners were honored during a June 3, 2009ceremony held at the Museum of Contemporary Arts. The campaign utilized paid search and email marketing to increase in-store salesfor The RoomPlace, a 22-location furniture store. The complete RoomPlace casestudy is available here: http:// There were three main objectives to the six-week program: 1) Sales - Increasenew-customer acquisitions and drive offline sales via online marketing; 2)Visibility - Increase brand awareness for The RoomPlace; and 3) Leads - Grow theopt-in e-mail marketing list. The results of the campaign were measured using five different factors: 1)Number of ad impressions; 2) Number of text and banner ad clicks; 3)Click-through rate (CTR); 4) Number of e-mail signups; and 5) In-store salesfigures related to the campaign.

Dozens of professionals from Chicago`s direct marketing community judged entriesin 17 award categories, rating both creative achievement and marketing results. "We came from virtually nowhere and beat the big guys, including DDB," explainedNaveed Usman, founder and president of The Usman Group. "This serves as a hugevalidation that a smart, focused and creative strategy without a big budget canproduce great results." "The Usman Group greatly exceeded our expectations," stated Valerie Berman,marketing manager for The Room Place. "This campaign drove in-store sales, whichwas most important to us. It really broke some of our pre-conceptions thatonline promotions would mostly just drive online sales." THE CAMPAIGNChallenge:The RoomPlace wanted to increase its online brand presence with customers whohad never heard of the store, and who had never considered it as a destinationpoint in the furniture market. It wanted to increase its offline sales usingonline strategies, but needed a fresh approach to lead generation.

Solution:To meet The RoomPlace`s marketing needs; the Usman Group developed a cohesivee-marketing plan, incorporating keyword bidding/management, paid searchadvertising, search engine optimization, web design and email-marketingstrategies. Yahoo, Google, MSN and other major search engines were utilized toreach consumers in the Chicagoland area. Methodology:Two campaigns were developed and tested during a six-week period. Strategicallyselected keywords with high search volumes and conversion potential wereutilized to increase ad rankings for The RoomPlace on the various searchengines. Additionally, The Usman Group monitored each keyword`s performance on adaily basis, securing The RoomPlace`s position and ensuring conversion goalswere being met.