PepsiCo has unveiled a new taller and skinnier soda can for its Pepsi soft drink, expected to debut some time in March.

The company says the new can was developed to celebrate “beautiful, confident women [everywhere],”

Pepsi is going to unveil the new can at an upcoming fashion show to be held in New York City days from now on February 11.

PepsiCo also owns a number of other well-known soft drinks, including Mtn Dew, among others, but the company will only offer its Pepsi beverage in the new can.

The retail giant will also continue to offer Pepsi in the traditional regular seize cans already available.

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The Calgary-based airline company, WestJet Ltd, announced strong fourth quarter earnings today, surpassing Wall Street expectations.

The company reported total net profits of $47.9-million ($0.33 per share) in the period. Analysts were expecting about $0.20 EPS.

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Update: Schmidt’s new post at Google could be short lived, as he is reportedly seeking a career in television, according to a report from the New York Post, which says he is in negotiations with CNN executive producer Liza McGurk on developing a show featuring himself.

The world’s largest online search engine, Google Inc., has announced plans to replace the current company chief executive officer, Eric Schmidt, with Google co-founder Larry Page, effective April 4, 2011.

Eric Schmidt has served as the chief executive at Google since August 2001.

As part of a reward package to Schmidt, Google confirmed it would give him a $100-million equity bonus over a four-year period.

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The Seattle-based premium coffee brewer, Starbucks, has made the biggest update to its corporate logo since its inception in 1971 in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

The logo now entirely features the sea nymph, and no longer includes the “Starbucks coffee” wording around the logo.

This March would mark forty years since the company first launched, and today, the company offers a lot more than just coffee.

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Update: Groupon has raised $500-million (SEC filing) of the $950-million from various investors, including the New York City-based investment bank, Morgan Stanley (first time investor), among other partners.

The Chicago-based private and largest Internet consumer coupon service, Groupon, is planning to raise additional capital, up to $950-million by issuing new Series G preferred stock, according to a new securities court filing in a Delaware court.

Groupon would use the proceeds from the issuance to fund continuing operations and to help expand the company by entering new and emerging markets, either by acquisitions or simply by direct investment.

According to the court papers, the company changed its corporate licensing certificate to allow it to issue up to an additional 30.1-million preferred Series G which would value the firm at $4.75-billion.

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Canada’s largest cellular telecom by subscribers, Rogers Communications, could face stiff penalties imposed by the Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB), after an internal investigation into allegations made by competitors concerning advertising claims were found to be inaccurate.

The investigation was initiated last September following a complaint to the bureau by one of Canada’s latest discount telecom players, Wind Mobile, who argued information conveyed in television and print ads for the Rogers discount telecom, Chatr, were false and misleading.

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The world’s largest online search company, Google, significantly increased employee payouts effective January 1, 2011, according to a public 8-K securities and exchange (SEC) filing published late last week by the company.

The Google Board of Directors approved the hefty increase in base salaries with added stock options for top-level executives at the company.

Four executives, including Patrick Pichette (Senior VP, CFO), Nikesh Arora (President, Sales & Business Development), Alan Eustace (Senior VP, Engineering, and Jonathan Rosenberg (Senior VP, Product Management), will all receive a significant 30-percent increase in their respective base salaries, bringing their new annual base salaries to $650,000.

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The German luxury car-maker, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, has announced a new pilot project dubbed BMW on Demand, that would allow consumers to rent the company’s luxury vehicles on an hourly basis, the first project of its kind for the company.

BMW is first launching the service in Munich, Germany, the same city the company’s headquarters is located in.

When the project launches (firm date has not been announced yet), for the next 12-months during the project test period, consumers would be able to rent top vehicles from the company, including the latest X6, M3, and 7-Series sedan at a rate of about $45 USD per hour (for the 7-Series), with other less expensive BMW vehicles costing consumers less on a per hour basis.

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Late Thursday, Google reported financial earnings for the third quarter of this fiscal year, reporting a strong surge in total profits.

Google’s total revenue for Q3 2010 was up 23-percent over the same period last year to $7.2-billion (or $5.5-billion net of partner fees).

The company reported $2.17-billion in net income ($6.72 per share), up a significant 32-percent from the same period last year.

Both revenue and total profits exceeded market expectations, with Wall Street analysts expecting earnings of $6.69 per share.

The company more recently began diversifying into other segments, including by building its own open source operating system, Google Android, and even venturing into renewable energy.

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Joseph Pope (Linkedin), who works in Broadcast Media. He previously worked at MTV Networks as a Senior Sales Planning Analyst. He has BS, Information Studies and Technology from Syracuse University, and has a MBA, Finance and Media Management from Fordham University.

Comcast Spotlight, the ad sales division of Comcast, announced on Thursday that interactive television (iTV) advertising is now available in 30 U.S. markets, reaching more than 10 million homes. Comcast has a total footprint in 80 U.S. markets, reaching around 30 million homes.

iTV is an appealing option for advertisers, compared to having viewers record a show and fast forward through the entire commercial. In that scenario the brand message is lost and the ad buy is wasted. With iTV the viewer is engaged, educated and perhaps persuaded to make a purchase.

“The message from clients couldn’t be clearer: more than ever, their focus is on the return on their marketing investment,” said Kevin Smith, Group Vice President, Spotlight Integrated Media Sales. “Combining qualified leads and accountability with cable television’s reach and ability to efficiently segment audiences makes spot advertising an even more powerful tool.”

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