When it comes to issues management, any corporate communicator will tell you that it is important to properly manage issues before they become crises. But proactive issues management can do more than protect reputation; it also can boost reputation when a potential crisis is not an issue.

Issues management enables corporate communicators to achieve this:

• Be ahead of the game — or at least shape your own agenda.
• Be a translator of outside views to those inside your organization.
• Be a translator of inside ideas to the outside world through thought leadership.

Efforts undertaken at EADS beginning in 2007 demonstrate how corporate communicators can harness issues management for reputation management. EADS addressed issues through two spheres of action: overall perception of the company and early recognition of changes in the company's environment.

Issues management can do more than protect reputation; it also can boost reputation when potential crisis is not an issue.

In 2007, surveys of consumers and opinion leaders showed innovation to be the company's strongest image factor and leadership in technology to be its second strongest. They also showed performance indicators (financials, products) and low personal relevance for consumers were weaknesses of EADS's image. From that understanding of the outside views of the company — and understanding that tensions can arise between the expectation of stakeholders and the performance or behavior of the company — EADS adopted a communications strategy of highlighting the company's contributions to society. This was done in these ways:

• An advertising campaign, called "made by EADS," that positioned the company and its products vis-à-vis several "big" topics; for instance:
  • Satellite technology represents "Answers, made by EADS."
  • Emergency services represent "Rescue, made by EADS."
  • Defense technologies represent "Security, made by EADS."
  • Innovative research represents "Possibilities, made by EADS."
• Media activities.
• Positioning of the CEO through speeches and op-eds.
• Exhibitions.
• Technology communications.

To identify changes in EADS's environment that might impact its top or bottom lines, the company began conducting internal and external risk and opportunity surveys. The surveys seek input from EADS's top management and from educated consumers with an interest in politics and the environment. The company compiles findings from this research into a quarterly "Trend & Issues Analysis Brief," which it uses to stay ahead of emerging issues.

The proactive efforts taken in both spheres of action (company and environment) have shown positive results. Opinion surveys conducted since 2007 show a three-year trend of EADS's overall corporate reputation developing favorably in its "home countries" of France, Germany, Spain and the U.K.

Jan Müller is vice president, issues and strategy, at EADS corporate communications in Munich. Müller joined the Aerospace Group in 2003. He is also in charge of CEO affairs for EADS corporate communications in Munich. Prior to that, he served as deputy head of the planning and campaign staff at the Christian Democrats' federal headquarters. He holds a master's degree in rhetoric and philosophy from Tübingen University.