PivoTrim (string trimmer head) – A Marketing Review
Summer is drawing to an end.
You know what that means. It’s time to finally tackle some of those landscaping chores that you’re been delaying for the past three months. As much as those snotty brats next door deserved to get lost in your weeds for three hours, it was rather annoying when the police had to rescue them and then have the nerve to give you a stern lecture about lawn maintenance.
Sigh.
The gasoline-powered string trimmer (or weed wacker or weed eater or whatever you call it) is still in the garage. You dust off the cobwebs, top off the gas tank, and then yank the starter cord with all your might. On the third try the engine catches, roaring to life in a sudden burst of power.
A choking cloud of white smoke from the trimmer’s engine envelops you as you slip on the safety glasses and head to the forest of weeds near the neighbor’s fence. Revving the tiny engine to full power, you make a quick slashing motion, cutting down the first row of weeds. The thick stalks of grass fall again and again as you cut through the overgrowth like a rabid lumberjack.
SNAP!
The still-standing stalks of grass confirm that your trimmer’s string just broke. You pound the trimmer’s head against the ground and release more trimmer line. A minute later the string snaps again. More string is released but it also snaps in a matter of moments. This process is repeated again and again until you finally slam the string trimmer so hard against the driveway it breaks the machine.
The overgrown weeds claim today as a victory. The four-foot tall stalks of grass stand triumphantly as you drag the broken trimmer to the garbage can behind the house. Perhaps tomorrow’s battle will end differently if you’re better prepared.
What’s this?
PivoTrim website — www.PivoTrim.com
The PivoTrim? Aren’t there like a dozen “strong” trimmer string accessories on the market?
What makes PivoTrim different than every other ultra-tough string accessory that claims to be the best for your lawn?
PivoTrim TV commercial
Let’s take a closer look at the PivoTrim and see how it’s being marketed to the general public.
PivoTrim TV commercial — Those f&$%ing weeds!
We’ve all been here, right?
The day finally arrives to finally demolish that makeshift jungle, and your weed eater can’t handle the job. Something that should be a simple chore turns into an overwhelming nightmare.
PivoTrim TV commercial — The ongoing struggle between man and machine.
Unwinding extra wire is never as simple as it sounds. You can pound the end of the trimmer against the ground and hope to unwind it. You could also show off your mechanical skills and try to manually unwind it. Either way the result is often the same: the neighbors pointing and laughing at your misery.
PivoTrim TV commercial — It’s the PivoTrim!
And just how are you supposed to trim and edge your lawn without blowing a gasket?
The answer, of course, is the PivoTrim! That’s right, the PivoTrim. Not exactly sure why it has a name like that, but apparently this is the product to add to your gas trimmer for the ultimate trimming experience.
PivoTrim TV commercial — You’ll be edging like a professional landscaper in no time!
Thanks to the alleged toughness of the PivoTrim, you can easily edge along your sidewalk and driveway without worry of the string frequently breaking.
PivoTrim TV commercial — Unlike your inferior trimmer line, the PivoTrim line won’t break.
The PivoTrim’s biggest selling feature is that it advertises that its lines will not break. The lines are supposedly tough and durable. The brick siding on your house will begin to fear your trimmer instead of the other way around.
PivoTrim TV commercial — Eating through plywood like a cat devouring liver treats.
To help demonstrate PivoTrim’s strength we see an example of it being used to cut through some plywood. As we see the strands of wire don’t just cut the wood — they destroy it. No problems there.
PivoTrim TV commercial — Animation of how the string bends.
Up next we see an animation of how the PivoTrim string bends when it strikes an object, supposedly helping prevent it from snapping and breaking. The fixed length of the strings helps prevent user error and having too much string, reducing the chances of whiplash and the string breaking.
We see a few examples of the PivoTrim in action, complete with the trimmer going against a metal chain-link fence. Sure enough, the string does not break after such “abuse.” Amazing!
PivoTrim TV commercial — Does NOT fit electric trimmers.
As we can see, the PivoTrim is a trimmer accessory designed for gasoline-powered trimmers. If you have an electric trimmer, then you cannot use the PivoTrim (and other trimming accessories). The biggest difference between gasoline and electric trimmers comes down to the horsepower of the trimmer. Although some of the newer electric trimmers are closer to the power output of the gasoline trimmers, the vast majority of electric trimmers do not have the horsepower or ability to handle basic cutting accessories.
PivoTrim TV commercial — FREE trimmer line for life!
Despite being so strong, we all know that the PivoTrim’s trimmer line will still fracture and break over time from normal wear and tear. That’s why the package for PivoTrim includes twenty lines although you only use four of them at a time with the accessory. When you go beyond the twenty trimmer lines you’ll have to pay processing and handling fees for even more lines. How much does that cost?
PivoTrim TV commercial — It keeps cutting and cutting and cutting . . .
Next we see another example of the toughness of PivoTrim as a person cuts a massive field of grass, edges a long sidwalk, and then cuts back overgrown grass along a fence, all of that supposedly with the same PivoTrim trimmer line. There’s no way to prove if the same exact line was used in all three examples, but that’s what the TV commercial claims.
PivoTrim TV commercial — Buy me! Buy me! Buy me!
At the end of the PivoTrim’s TV commercial we’re hit with the promotion once again. We already had a hinting of the promotion a little earlier, but now we’re hit with everything as part of the grand finale.
The GRAND TOTAL of the as-seen-on-TV PivoTrim promotion comes to $27.90 ($19.95 + $7.95 S&H). There’s no mention of the shipping and handling fees when you take advantage of the free trimmer line for life promotion. Of course, the free trimmer line for life is only good if the company is still in business years later when you need the replacement strings.
WARNING – Be careful if you enter your credit card company and press the “Order Now” button. Many of these as-seen-on-TV company websites do NOT give you a final confirmation screen before accepting your CC number.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It seems that at least once a year we see TV commercials for some kind of string trimmer accessory that supposedly cuts better and is easier to use than the standard trimmer line.
That’s a key thing to remember. All of these cutting accessories compare themselves to the standard trimmer line. Almost anything would cut better than the standard trimmer line. You don’t see these accessories comparing themselves to each other, proving which one is the best for trimming those hideous weeds around your yard.
If you want to get the most out of your trimmer, you need to read the manual and learn the tricks to making the trimmer line last longer. It seems like a basic concept, but many people simply fire up the trimmer and think they know how to trim their yard without reading some basic strategies first. You just do this, do that, hit it against the ground to release more string, and there you go. But when you do some basic research you’ll probably learn a few tricks to get even more out of the landscaping tool and help eliminate some of the frustration.
As far as the advertising for PivoTrim, it’s fairly straightforward. The TV commercial focuses on the strength of the trimmer line. We see a variety of examples as the gas trimmers cut everything from long grass to plywood and extremely thin sheet metal. What we don’t see is the actual installation of the accessory. Supposedly it’s easy and fits virtually all gasoline-powered trimmers, but the installation isn’t shown in the TV commercial or the website.
One thing I didn’t care for was the narrator’s fast pace and very excited voice. I get it that the product allegedly cuts weeds and tall grass fairly well. We can see that in the limited examples. Talking so excited and quickly tells me that you’re rushing the product and hoping that I don’t stop to think about it or do further research. In other words, I probably won’t be thrilled with it in the end.
Remember that you have to have a gasoline-powered trimmer for a trimming accessory such as PivoTrim. This is NOT for electric trimmers. If you’re planning on trimming vegetation thicker than large stalks of grass, you may need a cutting accessory more powerful than just string.
Did anybody notice a marketing error on the PivoTrim’s website?
A statement like the one underlined is called a superlative.
There’s absolutely no evidence on the website or in the TV commercial that backs up the claim that PivoTrim is supposedly more powerful than all other trimmer heads. If a company has to resort to puffery and superlatives to sell its products, does it really have an edge against its competitors? Probably not.
It’s debatable whether or not it’s a good idea for the company to give you so many trimmer strings in the package. Here’s a product that proudly shows off its toughness, but they also give you LOTS of extra trimmer line. If the product is so strong, why are you giving us so many replacements?
Why should we be happy to receive twenty lines (the accessory uses four at a time, so you have five sets of trimmer strings)? Why not just receive four lines and a replacement package of four extra lines? Throwing in basically five sets of lines is a little scary, like the company knows that you’ll be going through the supposedly strong lines at a quick pace.
On a final note, what is it exactly that sets the PivoTrim apart from other cutting accessories?
When you walk down the outdoor landscaping isles at Home Depot and Walmart, there are normally a few different trimmer heads that do as PivoTrim claims. Why should you get the PivoTrim when other products make the same claims about ease of use and overall toughness? Why should you pay the $27.90 for the mail order promotion when similar products cost as little as $13.99 at Walmart and $16.99 at Home Depot?
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All of the PivoTrim commercial images were screenshots of a TV commercial currently available on Youtube. For more product information, please visit the company’s website at www.PivoTrim.com.
PivoTrim is a registered trademark.
RellimZone.com is not affiliated with PivoTrim.