Bluefin Technology Partners Helps The Lawton Constitution Rapidly Transition Classified Advertising Operations Following Ownership Change

The Lawton Constitution – Classifieds Home Page

When The Lawton Constitution, of Lawton, Oklahoma (www.swoknews.com) changed ownership in late 2025, the leadership team at the historic Oklahoma newspaper faced an immediate operational challenge.

After being acquired by Hilary Communications from a regional newspaper publishing group, The Lawton Constitution needed to quickly separate its classified advertising operations from the former owner’s systems while preserving one of the newspaper’s most important community services — a strong and active classified advertising marketplace. The newspaper began evaluating several technology providers in search of a partner that could not only move quickly but also provide a modern platform capable of supporting both internal advertising operations and advertiser self-service.  That search led them to Bluefin Technology Partners, LLC. Working on an accelerated timeline, Bluefin deployed its advertising solutions in approximately 30 days from the newspaper’s initial outreach through live production launch. The implementation included Bluefin Place Ad for call center ad booking and advertiser self-service classified ad placement, along with Bluefin Marketplace for the search and display of digital classified advertising content.

“We are very happy to have chosen Bluefin Technology Partners and completed the onboarding process,” said JJ Francais, Executive Editor for The Lawton Constitution. “When we purchased The Lawton Constitution in October of 2025, a 124-year-old newspaper, we knew going into the acquisition our community still desired a robust classified section. We needed to partner with a management service that would drive value and functionality. It was clear from the start of the search that Bluefin was that provider. We have not been disappointed.”

According to Steve Rosenfeld – co-founder and General Partner at Bluefin Technology Partners – the success of the project came from the strong collaboration with newspaper’s team and a shared commitment to meeting an aggressive deadline.

“The team at The Lawton Constitution did an outstanding job working alongside Bluefin throughout the entire onboarding process,” said Rosenfeld. “Their commitment to defining specifications, participating in testing, and maintaining a very aggressive implementation schedule made it possible for us to successfully launch the platform in just 30 days. We are excited to support their continued investment in local classified advertising and community engagement.”

For The Lawton Constitution, the transition represented more than simply replacing software. It was an opportunity to modernize the newspaper’s classified advertising operation while preserving a long-standing connection between local businesses, employers, readers, and the broader Lawton community.

Bluefin Technology Partners is a leading provider of cloud-hosted advertising and marketplace solutions, and public notice ad creation services for community newspaper publishers throughout the United States and Canada. Its family of applications helps publishers modernize advertising workflows, support self-service ad placement, and create new digital revenue opportunities while delivering a streamlined experience for advertisers and readers alike. For more information about Bluefin Technology Partners contact: Steve Rosenfeld – General Partner, steve@getbluefin.com or visit www.getbluefin.com