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Recent literature analyses the role of territorial specificities, as the core of territorial rural development strategies based on differentiation. Unfortunately, the proliferation of quality assurance schemes is provoking a "labyrinth of labels" which diffuses the local efforts for capitalizing rural specificities. A second-generation of labels is currently being developed to simplify the territorial differentiation message. A number of territories in Southern Europe are basing their rural development strategies joining the so-called European Territorial Quality Mark ( E T Q M ) Project. This paper proposes an original methodology, designed and developed by authors, for the evaluation of some of these second-generation labels. This methodology has been validated in i5 rural territories as the pioneers of the E T Q M in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]