Short version: it was designed to help Romney’s GOTV. It did not work, in much the same way that the sun is warm. That first link will give the gory details; this second one will give you more; and there’s going to be more coming. I anticipate a good deal of useful under-the-hood analysis to come out of this; which should … no. Which will help us do better next time.
For my own part – and I plan to be repeating what I’m about to write to GOP party officials in the very near future – I have a very basic attitude. In 2012 the RNC had just come off of a successful rebuilding and won a series of extremely tricky elections against well-funded and dedicated opponents. The next Presidential campaign that wants to override that kind of institutional strength had better have the track record to justify it.