The aim is to achieve consistency between the English dub and the source material’s style and culture. Research is an essential step in the dubbing process; it allows the dubbing team to decide whether a local reference ought to be changed to an Anglophone equivalent or retained to keep the cultural flavor.
For example, did you know that softball is a very popular sport in Belgium? In the Dutch series 13 Commandments, a character who mentions softball practice presented the dubbing team with an interesting challenge: should this be kept as-is since the show takes place where the sport is played, or should it be changed to a sport that would be more obviously European, like soccer? (Even with the latter, decisions must be made whether “soccer” or “football” is more appropriate.) Given the tone of the scene and cultural context, we went with softball.
Balancing cultural specificity and international clarity is one of my favorite parts of localization.