This opinion article reflects the discussion about XS4ALL and KPN in early 2019.
When KPN announced plans to absorb XS4ALL into its main brand, my partner’s first reaction over dinner was that we would cancel our subscription. We were far from alone. Customers voiced their objections online, formed an action committee and signed a petition. After discussions with KPN failed to resolve their concerns, there was even talk of creating a new internet provider in the spirit of XS4ALL.
For many people, an internet connection is a utility: something expected to work as reliably as water from a tap. For these XS4ALL customers, it meant more. They felt an emotional connection with the company and were willing to pay for what it represented.
That attachment involved the expertise of its staff, its choice of hardware and services, and its focus on protecting customers’ privacy. The brand stood for a particular approach to the internet.
Purpose as part of the foundations
XS4ALL was more than an effective marketing proposition. It was a business with a distinctive character and a strong commitment to internet access. When it was founded in 1993, making the internet accessible to everyone was an ambitious goal.
Its founders embedded that purpose in the company well before “purpose marketing” became a familiar term. The mission was connected to the service itself and to the choices the organisation made.
By 2019, many more businesses were highlighting their contribution to society. Examples ranged from helping people enter employment to reducing food waste or supporting community projects. Brands and initiatives concerned with fairer chocolate production or removing plastic from the oceans also showed how a broader mission could become central to a public identity.
But the words are only one part of the story. A purpose becomes meaningful when people can recognise it in the organisation’s actions.
See loyalty as an asset
From that perspective, the proposed disappearance of XS4ALL was difficult to understand. Many companies would welcome customers who felt strongly enough about their brand to campaign for its survival.
While other businesses were trying to build a brand around a purpose, KPN appeared ready to retire a brand that already had one. In my view, that loyalty deserved to be considered as an asset, rather than treating the brand only as a cost.
XS4ALL’s positions on privacy, security and freedom of expression online gave it a distinct identity. Those issues were important to its customers and could have provided a place to develop ideas within the wider organisation.
Make the purpose visible in decisions
The lesson for purpose marketing is that a mission cannot remain separate from the business. Customers notice the service they receive, the choices a company makes and what happens when its stated values are tested.
A brand that wants people to believe in its purpose needs to believe in it itself—and act accordingly. That connection between identity and behaviour is also central to public relations and a credible communications strategy.
For more on expressing a clear mission, read our five communication tips for lasting visibility.
Stella
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