About Annapurna College of Film and Media

Founded in 2011 by Sri Akkineni Nageswara Rao & the Akkineni family, Annapurna College of Film and Media is one of India’s first private, non-profit film schools. Affiliated with JNAFAU and a full CILECT member, the college offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs across Direction, Script Writing, Production, Cinematography, Editing, and Sound Design—mentored by renowned global experts. Operating from the iconic Annapurna Studios, the team set out to modernize admissions without losing the personal touch creative programs demand.

The Challenge

• Missed Opportunities: Excel + a generic CRM meant manual messaging, inconsistent follow-ups, and slow responses—especially on WhatsApp.
• Scattered Systems: Leads flowed in from multiple channels, but data lived in silos with limited automation and delayed handoffs.
• Low Early Conversions: Despite strong interest, the team saw ~2% lead-to-conversion, signaling nurture gaps.
• Scaling Strain: Admissions wanted a single source of truth with real-time visibility across capture, nurture, and reporting.

The Solution

• Integrated WhatsApp for Business: Brochures, program info, and campaigns delivered instantly—no manual copy-paste.
• Chatbot & Automation: Always-on inquiry capture and drip sequences to keep prospects engaged.
• Lead Tracking & Funnel View: End-to-end visibility for admissions and marketing to align, optimize, and act.
• Built for Adoption: Spreadsheet-like list views, saved filters, and fast training helped counselors ramp quickly.

The Results

• 4× lift in lead-to-conversion: from ~2% to 8–10%.
• Ad-to-conversion up 3×: from 10% to 30%.
• Faster, friendlier comms: automated emails + WhatsApp improved trust and responsiveness.
• Happier teams & clearer decisions: counselors saved hours; leadership got real-time ROI and performance insights.

“With ExtraaEdge, our lead-to-conversion jumped from 2% to nearly 10%, and ad-to-conversion from 10% to 30%. The integrated WhatsApp + chatbot setup made our admissions smarter and faster.”
— Pranay Rupani, Head of Admissions & Marketing, Annapurna College of Film and Media

The ExtraaEdge Support Effect

Annapurna credits the transformation to technology and proactive partnership—responsive onboarding, role-based training, and rapid customizations. A dedicated team ensured momentum from day one:

“If I had to pick the top reasons for staying with ExtraaEdge, it’s people, people, and people, they have gone above and beyond so we can focus on nurturing filmmakers.”
— Pranay Rupani

Ready to deliver a studio-grade admissions experience?
Let’s modernize your funnel with integrated WhatsApp, automation, and admissions-first analytics.