MELBOURNE—PR agency Porter Novelli has announced it has hired Edelman New York’s senior vice president Rhys Ryan to head up its corporate communications practice in the role of managing partner in Australia. The move sees Ryan return to the agency where he began his career in Melbourne more than 10 years ago. The appointment comes less than a week after Porter Novelli lost its MD Annalise Brown to Bang PR. It is currently searching for a replacement. (via Mumbrella).

SHANGHAI—The Hoffman Agency has been appointed by Waters, global laboratory analytical instrument and software company, as its marketing and communications consultancy in China. The firm will develop and execute integrated marketing communications campaigns based on actionable market insights for Waters Corporation.

MUMBAI—Sesame Workshop in India, the organization behind Galli Galli Sim Sim has appointed Avian Media as their public relations agency. The development comes in the backdrop of a multi-agency pitch process held in New Delhi. Avian Media’s PR mandate is to drive stakeholder engagement, reputation management, blogger relations and strategic media management for the brand in order to make high quality ECCE (Early Childhood Care Education) synonymous with Sesame Workshop in India.

BEIJING—QD Vision, Inc., a leader in the emerging field of quantum dot nanotechnology, has brought in Text100 to handle its Greater China communications. The company has briefed Text to build awareness of its quantum dot technology among the region's electronics OEMs in general, and QD Vision's market -leading application of the technology in particular.

SINGAPORE—Rally, the social media specialist agency of IPG Mediabrands in Asia, has launched Socio 3.0 to bring full suite of social marketing cloud services to its clients. Socio 3.0 will bring real-time consumer data that will help marketers to develop the right social media messaging, launch it via the appropriate social touch points and measure its effectiveness.