Its Women’s Month and we are celebrating the women of 1956 who marched to the Union buildings in Pretoria to appeal against the country's past apartheid laws. GLAMOUR had the opportunity to speak to the team of women who run one of the biggest music festivals in South Africa, Rocking the Daisies.
Zethu Gqola, 28, Head of Marketing
Zethu Gqola is a marketing specialist who has worked on some of the biggest brands in SA, including Sowing the Seeds, In the City Festival and Glenfiddich. Zethu hails from Matatiele, Eastern Cape and has written for GLAMOUR magazine (junior features writer, 2013), as well as contributed to community publications and outreach programs such as GroundUp News and international NPO, Bridges for Music.
Since 2015 she has fully immersed herself in event marketing and is the strategic mind behind the marketing PR and social media for all things Rocking the Daisies, In the City Festival and other Steyn Entertainment event properties.
Ashleigh, 31, Talent Management & Logistics
Ashleigh fell in love with events in high school when she spent a week with Rainbow Experiential Marketing finding out more about the events industry, and the bug officially hit.
‘Seeing everything come together and being part of the team who put on events is my passion, along with the improvisation, hard work and satisfaction I enjoy from running successful events. In my spare time, I enjoy a good braai, glass of wine and some splashing around whenever the surf is good.’
Shannon Valstar, 25, Talent Management & Sponsorship
25-year-old Capetonian, Shannon has been working at Steyn Entertainment for the past 5 months. She previously worked in the sporting world doing Marketing and Communications at Grandstand Management.
If she’s not at work, you will likely find her attempting to be an ‘athlete’ at Sweat1000, somewhere outdoors, at one of Cape Town’s many incredible restaurants, bars and coffee shops or on Travelstart day-dreaming of her next trip. All of the above of course is done with some good music in the background - there’s a reason why she switched her career from lycra to lyrics and loud music after all.
Violet Patterson, 25, Marketing Assistant
Violet is a social media, PR account manager who’s dabbled and earned her XP badges in the advertising Industry. Originally from Bryanston, Violet was offered a scholarship to Vega School of Brand Leadership to study Creative Brand Communications with an internship at Ogilvy and Mather.
By 2016, Violet had worked on brands that include OhShip 2016, Coke Studio and Power Play Coalition, along with Distruction Boyz and Okmulumkoolkat. In 2018, Violet ventured off to freelancing, being a motivational speaker on her journey with PCOS, music and rebranding her online her boutique, while planning a wedding in a total of 3 months. With the urge to grow more into the Marketing industry, Violet has since landed her dream job with Steyn Entertainment, working on Rocking the Daisies and In the City JHB.
RTD 2019 will introduce the first ever Ladies Campsite to SA festivals, following in the footsteps of industry leaders like Bonnarroo in creating empowering spaces for women and woman-identifying fans. Activities will include talks with strong female music industry players on our line-up, beauty stations, high teas and more. Secure your tickets now.
