ITV has announced that it has agreed two significant new partnerships with Costa Coffee and Co-op for Coronation Street. In an ITV first, viewers will see Co-op and Costa Coffee storefronts as part of a new extended Weatherfield set.

Both facades will be fully branded and open for business in Spring 2018 with other assets such as posters, bags and cups integrated across the iconic soap.

The new agreements also include digital and brand-licensing aspects for both brands, enabling them to use Coronation Street assets and extend the partnership off-air.

First broadcast in 1960, Coronation Street is the longest-running soap on British TV and the most watched soap in the country. Product placement (PP) was introduced in the UK in 2011 and ITV led the way with the very first PP on British screens.

In the same year, the first peak time product placement was introduced in Coronation Street and since then ITV has brought together brands and programmes with PP agreements across the ITV schedule.

Mark Trinder, Sales Director, ITV commented: "The expansion of the Coronation Street set has given us a great opportunity to feature branded shop facades as more of Weatherfield is opened up to viewers. Incorporating product placement on this scale is something we have wanted to do for some time and we’re delighted with this exciting opportunity. We've worked really closely with the Coronation Street team to make sure we've got a great brand fit for Co-op and Costa Coffee with the nation's favourite soap while still ensuring editorial integrity".

"Coronation Street is all about community life and the Co-op is a retailer at the heart of local life and being close to the customer, which makes this a perfect match", said Alison Jones, Customer Director at Co-op. "We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our brand on the world’s most famous street by unveiling a Weatherfield store and having further brand placements with our shopping bags".

Eric Tavoukdjian, commercial marketing director for Costa Coffee UK&I, was equally upbeat: "Costa Coffee is delighted to be welcomed to the famous cobbles of Coronation Street as part of this innovative partnership with ITV", he said.

"As the nation’s favourite coffee shop and a presence on the UK high street for more than forty years, we feel it's perfect to have a presence on one of the nation's favourite and most iconic soaps. We're looking forward to partnering with the ITV team to integrate the Costa Coffee brand into Coronation Street as part of this exciting Weatherfield set extension".