In the book, McCracken recounts how corporations that successfully adapt to the cultural changes tend to prosper. His definition of culture begins with a distinction between fast and slow: Fast culture is like all the boats on the surface of the Pacific. We can spot them, track them. Slow culture is everything beneath the surface: less well charted, much less visible McCracken argues that when fast and slow culture meet, a convergent culture is created. He points to the
preppy subculture as an example of a convergent culture that brands such as
Ralph Lauren and
Tommy Hilfiger have capitalized on. He also analyses the convergence of
status, shifting from a class based value system to celebrity, and the
cool convergence, an aesthetic that he states developed alongside the
baby boomer generation. Changing relationships, McCracken argues, between consumers and producers have created new opportunities for brands to connect with culture. He observes that whilst only
1 in 100 people create content on the Internet, the creator consumer dynamic used to be "1 in 10,000". McCracken believes this change allows consumers to become an "active participant in the branding process". He refers to
Converse's 2005 motto as an illustration of this change: We don't own the brand. Consumers do For business's attempting to closely monitor culture, McCracken advises against employing "cool hunters" who "know only what suits them." Instead, he recommends creating a position for a Chief Culture Officer who is aware of both fast and slow culture, a "creature of many worlds, captives of none." == Reception ==