The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2024
KPN and MEAU turn online shaming into 'A Piece of Me' — a hit song that changed Dutch law
KPN had pop star MEAU write a song from teens' real stories about online shaming; it hit #3 on Spotify, drew 242M PR impressions and helped change Dutch law.
KPN
What it had to solve
KPN, a Dutch telecom competing in a mature, price-driven market, chose to differentiate on values through its #BetterInternet platform. Sexting is normal for teens but makes them vulnerable to online shaming, and society tends to blame victims rather than those who forward intimate images.
How it works
KPN, the Netherlands' leading telecom, competes in a market where rivals outdo each other on price, so in 2023 it chose to differentiate on values with its #BetterInternet platform. Its first big test was online shaming: sexting is a normal part of teen life, yet forwarding an intimate image without consent can cause devastating harm, and public conversation tended to blame the victim.
Instead of a warning campaign, KPN and Dentsu Creative Amsterdam made a record. They collaborated with Dutch pop star MEAU, who asked her young fans to share their real experiences of online shaming; those stories, gathered sensitively with expert guidance, became the lyrics of the song 'A Piece of Me' (Stukje van Mij), released in February 2024.
The release followed a music launch, not a media plan: streaming platforms, social premieres on MEAU's own channels, live performances, then TV, cinema and branded cutdowns, with TikTok flooded by helpful content and influencers spreading the message. The song became a Top 3 Spotify hit in the Netherlands with seven million streams, was viewed and shared more than 33 million times within three weeks, and drew 242 million PR impressions.
Why it lands
- The problem lives in internet culture, so the solution was placed in pop culture — a medium teens already choose, not a broadcast interruption.
- Real stories from MEAU's fans gave the lyrics authenticity no agency-written message could claim, so the audience recognised itself in the song.
- Releasing like a record made the campaign a cultural event: charts, streaming numbers and radio play carried the message without paid-media weight.
- Hacking TikTok as a search engine put real help where teens actually look, pairing the emotional hit with concrete support.
What it did
The song went viral within three weeks — over 33M views and shares, a Top 3 Spotify hit with 7M streams and a Gold record; 242M PR impressions; the Dutch Sexual Crimes Act was updated to make sharing intimate images without consent a sexual offense, and the video entered school curricula; KPN gained $592M in brand value.
What you can take
Give a serious social issue the form of the culture that hosts it: releasing a real, co-created pop song let a difficult warning travel as entertainment teens chose to share.
Since then
The campaign helped push online shaming onto the national agenda and into the Dutch parliament, and the Dutch Sexual Crimes Act was updated to classify sharing intimate images without consent as a sexual offense. The music video was added to school curricula, shown in hundreds of classrooms. 'A Piece of Me' won the Cannes Lions 2024 Creative Strategy Grand Prix, the WARC Awards 2025 Strategic Thinking Grand Prix and a One Show CMO Pencil, and MEAU re-recorded it in English to reach teens beyond the Netherlands.
Sources
- Beter Internet | KPN x Dentsu Creative Amsterdam
- Dentsu Creative Amsterdam's 'A Piece of Me' wins Creative Strategy Grand Prix
- Dave Frauenfelder Wins CMO Pencil at the One Show for 'A Piece of Me'
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card