The present invention relates to the use of copolymers stabilized with a protective colloid, in the form of their polymer powders redispersible in water or in the form of their aqueous polymer dispersions, in cement-free or low-cement coating materials, wherein the copolymer is obtainable by free radical polymerization, in water, of a) from 35 to 65% by weight of vinyl acetate, b) from 5 to 20% by weight of ethylene, c) from 40 to 70% by weight of vinyl esters of alpha-branched, tertiary monocarboxylic acids having 5 to 15 carbon atoms, and optionally d) from 0.1 to 10% by weight of further copolymerizable, ethylenically unsaturated comonomers, the data in % by weight totaling 100% by weight.