The Creative Supply Moat: Why Paid Social Margin Survives on Assets, Not Bids

Media buying across Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube has commoditized to the point where bidding skill alone no longer defends a retainer. The agencies holding margin are the ones controlling creative supply and first-party audience data, because those inputs cannot be replicated by a competitor with the same ad account access. As client-side AI literacy rises and budget reviews tighten, creative throughput becomes the measurable line item that justifies the fee.