An unclarity at the core of territorial marketing: legal incompleteness as a source of competing intentions and a muddling of branding tools. The case of Region Centre Val de Loire (France)[Un manque de clarté au cœur du marketing territorial : l'incomplétude juridique comme source d'intentions concurrentes et de confusion des outils de marque ; le cas de la Région Centre Val de Loire (France)]

This research paper examines territorial markers in terms of the legal tools of trademark law. In addition, it considers the marketing challenges faced by French territories, particularly in terms of their use of trademarks, given that most of the time there is a real difficulty in defining the boundaries of this concept. There is, indeed, no explicit definition of a territorial brand: the notion often combines a number of legal or regulatory elements relating to trade and tourism law and communication (I). However, in the current absence of a systematisation of markers or of a structured policy, the marking of tourist destinations is often superimposed on and confused with a whole series of other previously established signs, which makes it difficult to differentiate their respective purposes (II). This phenomenon is exacerbated by the confusion caused by the employment or use, often erroneously, of two key marketing concepts by the various stakeholders who manage the area: the label and the brand. This observation highlights the need to clarify these two concepts and to develop an approach based on historical elements in order to examine the identity and unifying role of the different markers and their anchorage in the legal system. The Centre-Val de Loire region in general, and to a certain extent the Pays de la Loire, is our field of study. Ultimately, this work highlights the need for a more thorough education of regional managers and marketing agencies, as well as the importance of a change in the law to better systematise these markers, and to limit the distortions between the markers and the geographical and cultural reality of the regions concerned.