The article substantiates the key role of the psychological toolkit in creating and promoting the brand of rural territories of the Southern region as attractive territories for consumers. Based on the analysis of research of marketers and brand managers, it is proved that such an image of these territories is formed on their positioning as maritime territories that have recreational and tourist resources. At the same time, limited access to these resources in rural territories of the base and district levels remote from the shoreline of the seas and estuaries is not taken into account. At the same time, such factors of the development of these natural and socio-spatial entities as an advantageous geographical position, the availability of favorable natural resources and natural and climatic conditions, a developed agro-food complex and labor resources, which together favor the positioning of these territories as predominantly agro-food ones, are not fully taken into account. It is the branding of the rural territories of the Southern region as agro-food ones that corresponds not only to the interests of the rural population, regional and national interests, but also to the interests of foreign investors.
Creation and promotion of the brand of rural territories of the Southern region as agro-food territories is facilitated by the use of a psychological approach to the disclosure of branding technology for these natural and socio-spatial entities. Attention is also paid to such psychological branding tools as mental mapping, image passport of the territory, map of landmark sites of the territory, mythological characteristics of the territory, model of presentation of the territory’s image.
In the context of subjective measurement of the of rural territories’ image in the Southern region, their image does not look so positive. Therefore, according to the results of the study, a conclusion is made about the need to reformat this image from the mostly negative to the positive and attractive for a certain country’s specific territorial product.
The fulfillment of this task requires further scientific technology development for rural territories branding in the Southern region from a position of interdisciplinarity and with reliance on psychological tools. It is important that the positive mental image of these territories does not differ from their actual state. 

brand, branding, image, mentality, psychological tools, rural territories