I've had some ideas I've posted on this site and on the roar, but to repeat the more significant ones:
1. Live streaming with commentary of every match not broadcast by Fox. This should not be up to the clubs to organise separately. One YouTube channel and a decent NRC website should be the home for all streamed matches. Having all the matches in one place will increase awareness, viewing numbers will grow and tribal support will develop. The competition will not grow without tragic rugby fans becoming tragic NRC fans and advocating to others. And tribal support will not develop while most games can’t be seen.
2. Double header events in Sydney and Brisbane. Each season should feature a weekend of double-headers, one in Sydney (SFS) featuring the 4 NSW teams and one in Brisbane with the two QLD teams against inter-state rivals. Promote the hell out of them on social media etc. Need to get 20k+. These should be events with a rugby theme, think local bands, sevens matches before and between the main games, kid zones, mini food / craft beer market etc.
3. Free NRC passes for junior rugby players. Every registered junior and student rugby player from the cities holding games should receive a pass (in the form of a plastic card) that provides free entry to all NRC matches in their city. The cards should include a fixture list. Alternatively each team could do this individually and give them out to their relevant junior clubs.
4. Combined Super Rugby and NRC memberships - as others have said here too.
5. Cut out all mentions of '3rd tier.' It is a terrible way of branding a competition. Just awful. No one makes the error of referring to Super Rugby as '2nd tier rugby?' so why do people call the NRC the 3rd tier all the time.
Also I am all for the challenge shield idea. Lets make that happen.