The partnerships will be negotiated by ITV Global Entertainment, and are likely to be confined to tea, coffee, chocolate, soap and bread brands, although other categories are being considered.
The deal will give the brands access to exclusive material, allow them to use its stars in marketing activity, place a 50th anniversary logo on packaging and create licensed products and incentives. The activity will centre on a theme of bringing families together.
The partners will be encouraged to work together to create cross-selling opportunities. They will not, however, be permitted to launch spin-offs from fictional brands that appear in the show, such as Newton & Ridley bitter.
The brands will work with ITV Global Entertainment's marketing agency, BD-NTWK, to create promotional material to run throughout the year.
ITV has drawn up a list of brands and hopes to secure most of the deals by January. Last month, anniversary plans for the soap, which include a DVD release and events, were unveiled by Gustavo Antonioni, commercial brands director at ITV Global Entertainment.
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